Chromium red cell survivial hepatosplenic schistosamiasis

ABSTRACT

The red-cell survival was studied in eight patients with hepatomegalic schistosomiasis with slight or moderate enlargement of the spleen. The CR[51] red cell half-life ranged between 15 and 30 days with four patients definitely below the lowest I'mit of normal of 25 days indicating mere rapid destruction of erythrocytes. As evidences of haemolysis could not be demonstrated in these patients, this might be due to chronic and slowly continuous red cell destruction. The size of the spleen did not correlate with the presence or absence of shortened red-cell half-life. It seems that a deranged spleen circulation secondary to a severer degree of portal hypertension may be the factor that determines intrasplenic red-cell destruction rather than the size of the spleen