Hemostatic abnormalities in HIV disease.

Hemostatic abnormalities are prominent and enigmatic features of HIV infection. In the foregoing discussion, many questions have been raised about the pathogenesis and treatment of HIV-related ITP, TTP, and ACA. The mechanism of platelet destruction in HIV-infected patients remains poorly defined, and the way in which HIV triggers these hemostatic abnormalities is unknown. Treatment of patients in the shadow of AIDS also poses unique problems for the clinician. Nevertheless, HIV-related thrombocytopenia provides a model for other forms of immune cytopenias, and better understanding of this form of ITP will lead to improved treatment modalities for other autoimmune diseases. Conversely, HIV-related ITP, TTP, and ACA should be viewed as part of a spectrum of autoimmune processes triggered by HIV. By defining the significance of these autoimmune processes in AIDS, more effective approaches to the treatment of HIV disease can and will be developed.