Indium-111 labeled platelet survival time studies in patients with prosthetic heart valves

Platelet survival time (PST) studies are useful to demonstrate whether or not patients with prosthetic heart valves have normal or shortened PST. During treatment for recurrent TIAs the PST will signal whether the patient is returning towards a normal PST. Using Indium-111 labeled platelets (ILP) the authors studied 10 patients suffering recurrent TIAs after prosthetic valve surgery to determine whether low dose aspirin increased their PST toward normal and whether the treatment had a beneficial effect on their TIA episodes. The authors conclude that low dose aspirin therapy as studied by ILP has no beneficial effect on PST or in preventing recurrent TIA. ILP is an important technique that allows the physician to identify those patients with shortened PST and to determine response to therapy