Improvement of platelet survival time with oxygen in patients with chronic obstructive airway disease.

Platelet survival time has been found to be shortened in hypoxemic patients, and these patients may have an increased risk of thromboembolism. Supplemental O2 was administered to 10 men with sever chronic obstructive airway disease and hypoxemia. Oxygen increased platelet survival time from a mean +/- SE of 1.9 +/- 0.16 to 2.5 +/- 0.21 days (P less than 0.005; normal half-time, 3.7 +/- 0.03 days); the survival half-time was increased by 0.03 days or more in 9 of these 10 men. Arterial Po2 was increased (46.0 +/- 1.1 to 60.0 +/- 1.5 mm Hg; P less than 0.001) in all men. Results suggest that hypoxemia is associated with shortened platelet survival time and that an increase in arterial Po2 is associated with an increase in platelet survival time. Although not established by this study, the increase in platelet survival time associated with supplemental O2 may decrease the risk of thromboembolism.