Hematological abnormalities in hemophilic patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

Hematological abnormalities are common in patients with AIDS or AIDS‐related complex. We studied cytological characteristics in peripheral blood and bone marrow samples of 33 hemophilic patients with HIV Infection and in six HIV negatives. The HIV‐positive patients presented leukopenia (60.6%), thrombocytopenia (69.9%), and anemia (57.5%). Bone marrow showed abnormalities of maturation in one or more cell lines similar to those described in other HIV‐infected groups of patients. These findings were more prominent in megacaryocytes and granulocytic series. Lymphocytosis, plasmocytosis, and increased hemophagocytosis were also common. These alterations do not appear in HIV‐negative patients and seem related to a direct effect of HIV on bone marrow cells or to alterations in T‐cell regulatory functions.