Consumption of alcohol leads to platelet inhibition in men

• Published in: The American journal of surgery Vol. 217; no. 5; pp. 868 - 872
• Main Authors: Smith, Sawyer, Fair, Kelly, Goodman, Andrew, Watson, Justin, Dodgion, Christopher, Schreiber, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.05.2019; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adenosine; Adenosine diphosphate; Adenosine Diphosphate - pharmacology; Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism; Anticoagulants; Arachidonic acid; Beverages; Blood platelets; Blood Platelets - drug effects; Case-Control Studies; Coagulation; Female; Females; Gender differences; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Inhibition; Male; Males; Mapping; Men; Platelet Function Tests; Platelets; Prospective Studies; Studies; Thrombelastography; Volunteers; Women
• ISSN: 0002-9610; 1879-1883; 1879-1883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.02.020

Alcohol consumption has been shown to alter coagulation. However, thromboelastography with platelet mapping (TEG PM) to evaluate platelet function has not been studied. A prospective, non-randomized study of healthy volunteers was conducted. Baseline TEG PM were collected. Subjects consumed alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages for 2 h. Repeat TEG PM was collected. Fifty-four volunteers entered either the experimental group (EG, 17 women and 16 men) or control group (CG, 11 women and 10 men). After 2 h of alcohol or non-alcoholic drink consumption the median breath alcohol level was 0.08 [IQR 0.05, 0.12] in the EG and 0.00 in the CG. After consumption of alcohol, male EG subjects demonstrated higher median Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) inhibition of platelet function (15.7% [3.9, 39.3] vs 8.2% [0, 30.1), p = 0.035), but female subjects did not. There was no evidence of increased arachidonic acid (AA) platelet inhibition in the EG compared to CG. Clot strength (TEG maximum amplitude) was not different between groups. After consumption of alcohol, healthy male volunteers demonstrate ADP platelet inhibition by TEG PM. •Acute alcohol intoxication effects coagulation differently by gender.•Acute alcohol intoxication is associated with ADP platelet receptor inhibition in men.•Acute alcohol intoxication is not associated with platelet receptor inhibition in women.