Plasma thrombopoietin concentrations in thrombocytopenic and non‐thrombocytopenic patients in a neonatal intensive care unit

• Published in: British journal of haematology Vol. 104; no. 1; pp. 90 - 92
• Main Authors: Sola, Martha C., Calhoun, Darlene A., Hutson, Alan D., Christensen, Robert D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, U.K. and Cambridge, USA Blackwell Science Ltd 01.01.1999; Blackwell
• Subjects: alloimmune thrombocytopenia; Biological and medical sciences; Biopsy; Diseases of mother, fetus and pregnancy; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Intensive Care, Neonatal; Medical sciences; neonatal thrombocytopenia; newborn; Platelet Count; Pregnancy. Fetus. Placenta; thrombocytopenia; Thrombocytopenia - blood; Thrombocytopenia - etiology; thrombopoietin; Thrombopoietin - analysis; Human; Thrombocytopenia; Immunopathology; Pregnancy disorders; Megakaryocyte; Hemopathy; Thrombopoietin; Blood plasma; Isoimmunization; Numeration; Fetal diseases; Fetomaternal; Platelet; Newborn; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0007-1048; 1365-2141
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2141.1999.01154.x

Thrombocytopenia is a frequent occurrence in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), but the role of thrombopoietin (Tpo) in the pathophysiology is unknown. We obtained serial plasma Tpo concentrations in 20 thrombocytopenic neonates in our NICU, and performed bone marrow studies in 15. The initial Tpo levels ranged from undetectable (<41 pg/ml) to 1112 pg/ml and did not correlate with gestational age or platelet count. Neonates with decreased marrow megakaryocytes did not have plasma Tpo levels as high as those reported in adults, particularly in small for gestational age infants (Tpo < 300 pg/ml). In 14/15 neonates followed until resolution, the Tpo concentration decreased as the platelet count increased.