Blood, 1959, Vol. 14, No. 12, pp. 1322-1338.
© 1959 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Congenital Deficiency of Proconvertin: A Clinical
and Laboratory Report
SHERWOOD P. MILLER 1 and
Mary Jane Patch 1
1 Coagulation Laboratory, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, Calif.
1. A case of congenital deficiency of proconvertin in a Hopi Indian boy
is reported. This is the eleventh case of "pure" proconvertin deficiency and the
second reported in the American literature.
2. Laboratory studies revealed normal intrinsic blood coagulation but
markedly abnormal tests when coagulation was studied in the presence
of tissue extracts.
3. An accompanying mild deficiency of prothrombin was suggested by
the results of some tests.
4. The concept that the role of proconvertin in hemostasis is primarily
as a co-thromboplastin is supported by the clinical and laboratory studies
carried out on this patient. The differentiation of this disorder from other
cases with deficiencies of "serum" factors is discussed, and the previously reported cases are reviewed.
Submitted on November 12, 1958
Accepted on March 9, 1959
