Demographic and clinical analysis on hospitalized patients with thrombocytopenia

Abstract

Introduction: Thrombocytopenia is a common hematological abnormality observed in hospitalized patients. Objective: The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of thrombocytopenia and its underlying causes. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 221 thrombocytopenia patients (platelet count <100 × 10 9 /L) admitted to a single center (Al Qassimi Hospital-United Arab Emirates, Sharjah) between the years 2005 and 2010, and the demographics, associated conditions, therapy and outcome assessed. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 39 years (range 0-90 years), including 18.5% children. The majority of patients presented with platelet counts ≥71 × 10 9 /L. Thrombocytopenia was more common in younger women (20-40 years); the proportion of men was greater in the elderly population. Thrombocytopenia was associated in 28.5% of the patients with infections, in 14% with pregnancy, in 10.4% with cardiac disease, in 10.0% with surgical interventions and in 7.7% with liver/kidney disease. Immune thrombocytopenia was diagnosed in 3.6% of the patients. Spontaneous recovery was observed for 72.5% of the untreated patients, and 71.9% of the patients receiving antibiotics to treat underlying infections subsequently recovered. Conclusion: The reason for low platelet counts may be multi-factorial for many patients and not restricted to a single underlying condition. Standard treatment options are generally effective, but newer treatment modalities may be explored for patients which fail to respond.

Keywords

• Cardiac disease
• platelet counts
• thrombocytopenia