Platelet function abnormalities in acute leukaemia.

Studies on platelet function in vitro were done in fourteen patients with different kinds of acute leukaemia. Quantitative clot retraction was abnormal in all patients. Aggregation was different with the various agents tested. Availability of platelet factor 3 was abnormal in six patients. All patients were studied prior to chemotherapy. Two patients were studied in complete remission, as well; they showed an almost normal platelet function. Another patient without remission after induction treatment displayed a platelet function worse than in the initial study. The results suggest that the defect in leukaemic platelets is due to the leukaemic process itself.