The relationship between thrombocytopenia and intraventricular hemorrhage in neonates with gestational age <35 weeks

Abstract

Background The prevalence of thrombocytopenia in neonates ranges from 22 to 35%, and one of the most feared complica­tions is intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Previous research in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (CMH), Jakarta reported a high incidence of IVH (43.47%) in infants with a gestational age of 2). Thrombocyte counts were recorded on the same day as the diagnosis of IVH. Results The risk of severe IVH was 28.2% in neonates with thrombocyte counts <100,000/uL, and 10.4% in neonates without thrombocytopenia (P=0.014). Multivariate analysis revealed that gestational age <32 weeks and the use of respira­tory support (ventilator and high frequency oscillatory ventila­tion) had significant associations with severe IVH. However, multivariate analysis did not show a significant relationship between thrombocytopenia and severe IVH (correlation coef­ficient = 0.21). Conclusion Thrombocytopenia is not significantly associated with the incidence of severe IVH based on multivariate analysis. Also, the severity of thrombocytopenia has no correlation with the severity of IVH.

Keywords

• gestational age <35 weeks
• intraventricular hemorrhage
• thrombocytopenia.