Thrombocytopenia during Pregnancy and Its Outcome – A Prospective Study

Background: Thrombocytopenia is second to anemia as the most common hematological abnormality during pregnancy. Accurate etiological diagnosis is essential for optimal therapeutic management and thus can prevent maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Aims and Objectives: To determine various etiologies of maternal thrombocytopenia, their complications and fetomaternal outcome compared with normal pregnancy. Material and Methods: A prospective study was carried out in tertiary hospital, 1460 pregnant women who attended the Antenatal clinic regularly were enrolled. All were screened for thrombocytopenia in third trimester (after 28 weeks), women with normal platelet (n=1350) were taken in control group and those with low counts less than 150 x109/L (n=130) were included in study group. Etiology and fetomaternal outcome of thrombocytopenia in third trimester of pregnancy were evaluated and compared. Results: Gestational thrombocytopenia was the commonest etiology (68.46%). Incidence of thrombocytopenia due to severe preeclampsia and Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelet (HELLP) syndrome in study group was 18.46% and 7.69% of them had medical cause like malarial or dengue fever. Major causes were Gestational Thrombocytopenia (GT), Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, malaria, and dengue. Maternal complications due to bleeding tendencies like placental abruption, postpartum hemorrhage were evident in the study population. Fetal complications were significantly higher in study group. Early neonatal thrombocytopenia depended on etiology rather than severity of maternal thrombocytopenia. Conclusions: Outcome of pregnancy with moderate to severe thrombocytopenia depends mainly on the etiology of thrombocytopenia. Adverse outcomes are especially seen with pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Fetomaternal outcome is favorable in gestational thrombocytopenia. Thus accurate etiological diagnosis is essential for optimal therapeutic management