Blood, 1957, Vol. 12, No. 9, pp. 834-843.
© 1957 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
The Nature of the Hemorrhagic Disorder Accompanying
Hemolytic Transfusion Reactions in Man
JULIUS R. KREVANS 1,
DUDLEY P. JACKSON 1,
C. LOCKARD CONLEY 1, and
ROBERT C. HARTMANN 1
1 Department of Medicine of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
and Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.
A hemorrhagic diathesis has been observed in 2 patients who received 500 ml.
of incompatible whole blood. In both, hypofibrinogenemia, hypoprothrombinemia
and thrombocytopenia were observed and there was no evidence of increased
fibrinolytic activity. In one, accelerin activity was reduced and there was transient evidence of a low-titered circulating anticoagulant.
The most likely explanation for the observed changes is intravascular coagulation in the recipient, presumably initiated by the thromboplastin-like activity
of the hemolyzed red blood cells.
Submitted on November 5, 1956
Accepted on January 11, 1957