Biphasic impairment of erythrocyte deformability in response to repeated, short duration exposures of supraphysiological, subhaemolytic shear stress

摘要

INTRODUCTION: Despite current generation mechanical assist devices being designed to limit shear stresses and minimise damage to formed elements in blood, severe secondary complications suggestive of impaired rheological functioning are still observed. At present, the precise interactions between the magnitude-duration of shear stress exposure and the deformability of red blood cells (RBC) remain largely undescribed for repeated subhaemolytic shear stress duty-cycles of less than 15 s. Given that the time taken for blood to traverse mechanical devices (e.g., Bio Pump) typically ranges from 1.85-3.08 s, the present study examined the influence of repeated, short duration, supraphysiological shear stress exposure on RBC function.