Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica

Polymer Physics and Complex Fluids Group

Research

Red blood cell aggregation and thickened blood in post-surgery patients

We collaborated with Dr. Po-Shun Hsu and Dr. Chien-Sung Tsai at the Tri-Services Hospital to study why blood viscosity increased for patients who underwent major cardiovascular correction surgeries. We found increased fibrinogen and C-reactive proteins significantly increased red blood cell aggregation, even with hemodilution. From the microscopy images, we see the RBC aggregates are more rounded and larger within 2 weeks of the surgery. The aggregates are more columnar, forming "rouleaux", before the surgery and more than 2 weeks after the surgery.

Wu et al, Scientific Rep. (2016)