[Improvement of blood viscosity in sickle-cell anaemia by pentoxifylline (author's transl)].

An 18-yer-old girl with homozygotic sickle-cell anaemia (HbSS: HbS 65% and HbF 4.9%) suffered from painful haemolytic crises since six years of age, these crises occurring almost weekly of late. Pentoxifylline (2.4 g daily in three divided doses) decreased blood viscosity in vitro from 6.7 to 4.9 (normal 4.3-5.3 at 46 s-1 shear rate) and erythrocyte filtration accelerated from 127 to 77 s (normally 30-49 s). Although pentoxifylline could not prevent haemolysis, previously necessary analgesics were no longer required, even during haemolytic crises. Thus the drug lowers viscosity also in vivo and thus improves microcirculation. It has a prophylactic effect against vaso-occlusive complications of sickle-cell anaemia.