Among all 15,385 women who had singleton pregnancies, 9912 women had uncomplicated pregnancies. When determining whether or not a high platelet count is something to worry about, healthcare providers may look for symptoms like bruising, bleeding, as well as signs of infection or another underlying condition. Short-term stress is associated with changes in platelet function. The mean platelet counts of the 197 women who had preexisting disorders associated with thrombocytopenia were lower than those of the women who had uncomplicated pregnancies at all trimesters and at the time of delivery (P<0.03 for all comparisons). However, the occurrence and severity of thrombocytopenia throughout pregnancy are not defined. 2012 Dec;4(6):415-23. doi:10.4021/jocmr1125w, Heber S, Volf I. Reactive, or secondary, platelet levels mean that another disease process, such as inflammation or cancer, is causing an increase in platelets, the Cleveland Clinic explains. government site. We analyzed the platelet counts in women 15 to 44 years of age who delivered at Oklahoma University Medical Center between January 1, 2011, and August 19, 2014. 1). 146 - 429. A full-term pregnancy typically lasts for 40 weeks. 2019;69(684):e462-e469. S1A and S1B in the Supplementary Appendix). Read our, When a High Platelet Count May Be Concerning. Short-term, strenuous exercise can cause an increase in platelet count. It also may occur within 48 hours of delivery, although symptoms may take up to 7 days to be evident. Aster RH. It is common and usually does not cause problems for the mother or baby. Other risk factors for HELLP syndrome include: Women may notice HELLP syndrome symptoms while they are pregnant or shortly after childbirth. Choosing a gynecologist is not an easy decision. In addition, thrombocytopenia in women who have preexisting disorders, such as immune thrombocytopenic purpura, may become more severe during pregnancy.4,11 To understand the course of platelet counts throughout pregnancy, we evaluated platelet counts in women who delivered at the Oklahoma University Medical Center between 2011 and 2014. Verywell Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. I bars denote 95% confidence intervals. According to a NEJM study, if the platelet count is less than 100,000 per cubic millimeter, then a cause other than pregnancy should be considered. This can help prevent serious bleeding during delivery. 190: gestational diabetes mellitus. Belly pain, especially in the upper right side. Having a high platelet count, or thrombocytosis, doesn't always indicate something serious is going on. However, this is temporary, with platelet counts tending to return to normal quickly. Pregnancy loss occurs frequently in women with essential thrombocytosis, a case history by lead author Gokhan Anil, MD reports in The Female Patient. For most women with HELLP, symptoms improve within a few days of giving birth. Curtin LR, Mohadjer LK, Dohrmann SM, et al. However, having a high platelet count can lead to clotting problems and, in some cases, may be associated with serious conditions, like cancer. Up to 1 in 5 women who have HELLP syndrome experience it a second time. Before This website is owned by Danone Specialised Nutrition Singapore Pte Ltd. We use cookies to enable a better user experience. 6 A very high platelet count can cause blood clots that can block blood flow to the embryo or fetus, while low platelet counts can cause bleeding. The pregnant women had significantly lower mean platelet counts than the nonpregnant women during each trimester and at the time of delivery (P<0.001). Most women who have essential thrombocythemia have normal, healthy pregnancies. A reactive high platelet level could be due to a whole range of causes which include: -Acute bleeding and blood loss -Allergic reactions -Cancer -Chronic kidney failure or another kidney disorder -Exercise -Heart attack -Coronary artery bypass -Infections, including tuberculosis -Iron deficiency -Vitamin deficiency -Removal of spleen -Hemolytic To learn what is known about platelet counts throughout normal pregnancies, we systematically reviewed all publications describing platelet counts during pregnancy. A platelet count of 432 thousand is still within normal. When we evaluated all 10,296 platelet count values measured during pregnancy and at the time of delivery in women with pregnancy-related complications (Fig. Of these women, 197 (58.3%) had sufficient data for our analyses (Fig. However, HELLP syndrome itself does not affect the newborns liver function or other organs. A review and assessment of drug-induced thrombocytosis. X 10 9 /L. In healthy, nonpregnant adult women, one third of all circulating platelets are transiently pooled within the low flow-rate circulation of the splenic sinusoids; an increased spleen size results in more pooling of the platelets and a lower platelet count.17 Therefore, the 50% increase in spleen size that occurs during pregnancy18 would also contribute to a lower platelet count. raised or high platelet count in pregnancy Last reviewed 01/2018 reactive thrombocytosis (RT) may be responsible for more than 85% of cases with thrombocythaemia causes of reactive thrombocythaemia (including inflammation, infection, haemorrhage and iron deficiency) must be excluded before a diagnosis of essential thrombocythaemia (ET) is made At the time of delivery, 11.9% of the women with pregnancy-related complications had platelet counts of less than 150,000 per cubic millimeter, a percentage that was significantly greater than that in the women with uncomplicated pregnancies. It also covers in what circumstances having a high platelet count may or may not be something to worry about. Thrombocytosis involves having an elevated level of platelets in your blood. Examples include: Research has found that urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, and gastrointenstinal infections are among the leading causes of a high platelet count. Johns Hopkins Medicine. take care! Pregnancy Trimester Three: 8.2 to 10.4 m3 or 8.2 to 10.4 fl; Results of the Mean Platelet Volume test are a bit confusing as size and number must be taken into consideration. Inflamm Bowel Dis. Burrows RF, Kelton JG. Other . Data from the 328 women who had twin pregnancies were analyzed separately. Of these women, 4568 (46.1%) had sufficient data for our analyses. 82 views, 1 likes, 2 loves, 1 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Scottsville Word of Life Assembly: Sunday PM 4/30/23 *We do not own. Of these women, 2586 (54.3%) had sufficient data for our analyses (Fig. Platelet counts at the time of delivery in the women who had singleton pregnancies and in the women who had twin pregnancies were compared with the use of Students t-test. 2015;2015:165078. doi:10.1155/2015/165078, Koudouovoh-Tripp P, Hfner K, Egeter J, et al. Among the 12 women with uncomplicated pregnancies who had a platelet count below 80,000 per cubic millimeter, only 5 (0.1%, among whom the range of platelet counts was 62,000 to 78,000 per cubic millimeter; median, 65,000) were identified by medical record review as having no alternative cause for the thrombocytopenia. The mean platelet count in the 8885 nonpregnant women is designated by N on the x axis. Data on nonpregnant women 15 to 44 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 through 2012 were used for comparisons. 171: management of preterm labor. Your healthcare team will make sure that your diagnostic tests are safe for you and your baby. HELLP syndrome can lead to severe health complications if left untreated. Practice bulletin no. In other cases, there may be a problem like an infection or anemia. Treating the anemia should help return your platelet levels back to normal. Please refer to our Privacy Policy to change your cookie settings. In this treatment, you receive donated blood or blood components. Therefore, the risk of a platelet count below 150,000 per cubic millimeter was 14.2 (95% CI, 8.9 to 22.6) times as high among women who had had a count below 150,000 per cubic millimeter in a previous pregnancy as among women who had not. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.). Are you at risk for clots? A high platelet count can indicate an underlying condition. Because some of these problems can be serious, high platelets always need to be thoroughly evaluated by a healthcare provider. Data from women who had uncomplicated twin pregnancies were analyzed separately according to the same selection criteria, except that uncomplicated delivery was defined as birth at or after 34 weeks of gestation. Significance of plasma skimming and plasma volume expansion. Many times, a high platelet count doesnt cause any symptoms or mean something serious is going on. Some platelet-lowering medications, such as anagrelide, busulfan and hydroxyurea, is embryo-toxic and should not be used in pregnancy. In some cases this is due to a problem that existed prior to pregnancy; in others, it comes on during pregnancy. Hepatogastroenterology. Women with essential disease have a miscarriage rate of 43 percent, 36 percent in the first 3 months of pregnancy, according to Anil. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: sample design, 19992006. Panel B shows the mean platelet counts of the women who had uncomplicated pregnancies, the women who had pregnancy-related complications, and the women who had preexisting disorders that were associated with thrombocytopenia. Nishio et al. Some common causes of low platelets during pregnancy include gestational thrombocytopenia, pre-eclampsia, HELLP (hemolysis,elevated liver enzymes, low platelets) syndrome, immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Severe IUGR can lead to intrauterine death. The two types of thrombocytosis are primary thrombocytosis and secondary thrombocytosis: A high platelet count may be found during routine blood work and more tests may be done to diagnose any associated conditions. The platelet counts in the women who had pregnancy-related complications decreased significantly throughout pregnancy (P<0.001). A high platelet count may be less worrisome if it is associated with: While these conditions and circumstances tend to result in a high platelet count returning to normal, if these aren't treated, monitored, or managed appropriately, they can lead to more concerning risks. After obtaining weighted estimates for the data from the women from NHANES, we used Students t-test to compare the platelet counts in the pregnant women with those in the nonpregnant women. In general, the longer the pregnancy continues, the better the outcome for the newborn. For example, spleen removal surgery, or a splenectomy, is significantly associated with secondary thrombocytosis, impacting up to 90% of individuals who undergo this procedure. The characteristics of these women are provided in Table S1 in the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of this article at NEJM.org. A total of 59 women (2.3%) had platelet counts below 100,000 per cubic millimeter and 31 women had platelet counts below 80,000 per cubic millimeter during pregnancy, at the time of delivery, or both, which represented a higher incidence of low platelet counts than the incidence among women who had uncomplicated pregnancies (P<0.001). The site is secure. A very high platelet count can cause blood clots that can block blood flow to the embryo or fetus, while low platelet counts can cause bleeding. 2013;19(6):124. doi:10.1097/MIB.0b013e318281f3df, Geara A, El-imad B, Baz W, Odaimi M, El-sayegh S. Pseudoleukocytosis secondary to hepatitis C-associated cryoglobulinemia: a case report. Treatment for low blood platelets in pregnancy Doctors usually wait and see if the problem gets resolved on its own before going in for treatment for low blood platelets in pregnancy. To identify the lowest platelet counts throughout pregnancy and at the time of delivery, we reviewed all the platelet counts that had been measured during pregnancy up to the time of delivery. Ultimately, treatment for HELLP syndrome is delivery. National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute. Your provider may give your baby corticosteroids to help their lungs develop. Blood clots or bleeding may cause the following complications: High blood pressure Slow growth of your unborn baby Premature delivery Separation of the placenta from your womb Loss of your pregnancy We recorded each womans platelet count, race or ethnic group, and age. As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. Paraneoplastic thrombocytosis: the secrets of tumor self-promotion. Since your gynae suggested u to go for further tests, pls go ahead, anyways its just a blood check and it will give u piece of mind. Pooling of platelets in the spleen: role in the pathogenesis of hypersplenic thrombocytopenia. Delivering the fetus early may also be recommended.