In Vivo Venous Assessment of Red Blood Cell Aggregate Sizes in Diabetic Patients with a Quantitative Cellular Ultrasound Imaging Method: Proof of Concept

摘要

BackgroundDiabetic patients present higher level of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation contributing to the development of vascular complications. While it has been suggested that this hematology/rheology parameter could bring additional prognostic information for the management of those patients, RBC aggregation screening is not included as a clinical practice. Most medical centers are not equipped to measure properly this parameter, although sedimentation tests can bring some indication. Here, we aimed at evaluating the feasibility of using ultrasound to assess in-vivo hyper-aggregation in type 2 diabetic patients.