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To the Editor.
—I take exception to the editorial by C. T. Kisker and A. M. Mauer, which appeared in the October 1972 issue of the Journal. These authors stated that platelet infusions in thrombocytopenia secondary to varicella "are of no avail because the transfused platelets are so rapidly destroyed as are the patients' own cells." Our experience indicates that the platelet survival is indeed very short in such individuals, but clinical observation indicates that the survival is long enough to provide a hemostatic effect.We had the occasion to treat a 7-year-old boy, who was admitted to Texas Children's Hospital with fulminant varicella complicated by thrombocytopenia. The child had extensive hemorrhagic skin lesions, as well as hemorrhage into mucous membranes of the mouth and nasopharynx. The hemorrhage into the nasopharynx had resulted in upper airway obstruction, and an emergency tracheostomy had been performed. At the time of admission, the