title: Hematologic changes in massive burn injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study and report the striking hematologic changes that occur in patients with massive burn injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case reports and description of hematologic studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A municipal general hospital burn unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three severely burned patients who survived, respectively, 45 mins, 22 hrs, and 57 hrs after hospitalization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Routine clinical hematologic laboratory studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients had intravascular hemolysis, and their RBCs exhibited spherocytosis, fragmentation, and vesiculation. Numerous fragments of red cell membranes were originally present in the blood and cleared within 4 hrs. These fragments may have contributed to the renal failure seen in these patients. The patients also had marked pseudothrombocytosis, presumably owing to "incorrect recognition" by the automatic counter of red cell microvesicles as platelets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pseudothrombocytosis should be anticipated with massive burn injury. Despite high or normal platelet counts reported by the laboratory, evidence of intravascular coagulation should be promptly investigated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, NY.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Atac
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002056:Burns / Q000097:blood*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors