Effect of dialysis on bleeding time in chronic renal failure.

Renal failure is associated with severe haemorrhagic complications. Platelets play an important role in coagulation and their dysfunction may be responsible for the bleeding tendency in these patients. Sixty patients with advanced renal failure were investigated for bleeding tendency due to platelet dysfunction. The pre-dialysis platelet count was 46 to 325 x 10(9)/L) (mean 166 x 10(9)/L). Post-dialysis platelet count was 60 to 310 x 10(9)/L, (mean 172 x 10(9)/L) Pre-dialysis mean bleeding time (BT) was 4.95 +/- 0.27 minutes (range 1.30 to 20 minutes). Thirty-three patients (55%) had prolonged BT before dialysis. Mean BT in all patients after dialysis was 2.46 +/- 0.24 minutes (range 1.15 to 10 minutes). BT was corrected in 27 (81.8%) out of 33 patients with prolonged BT before dialysis. In 6 patients (10%) it remained prolonged. This improvement in BT after dialysis was statistically significant (p value < 0.001). Both peritoneal and hemodialysis resulted in significant improvement in bleeding time.