The Relation between Etiology and Outcome of Neonatal Thrombocytopenia in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Zagazig University Hospital

Abstract

In busy NICUs evaluation and management of patients with neonatal thrombocytopenia is an everyday occurrence. In most cases, simple clinical and laboratory evaluation provides the cause of the thrombocytopenia and allows a prediction of its clinical course. Thrombocytopenia defined as platelet count of < 150x109 /L in any neonate regardless of gestational age. The incidence of neonatal thrombocytopenia varies greatly from <1.1 in healthy term babies to around one third of neonates admitted to NICU. The incidence of Thrombocytopenia in preterm neonates in NICU is in much higher, reaching 22.35%, with severe thrombocytopenia (platelets <50 x109 /L) in 6% of all admission. Thrombocytopenia in the newborn rarely is indicative of a primary disorder of megakaryopoiesis, but more often is the result of either systemic illness or transfer of maternal antibodies directed against fetal platelets.