2. Causes of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy
Spurious result (reduced platelets on automated
Coulter counter because of platelet clumping or
misreading of large immature platelets as red cells)
Gestational thrombocytopenia
ITP
PET and Haemolysis, HELLP syndrome
DIC
Sepsis
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS)/thrombotic
thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
HIV, drugs and infections (e.g. malaria)
SLE and APS
Bone marrow suppression. Aboubakr Elnashar
3. Incidence
5-10% of pregnant women
Pregnancy-associated’ or ‘gestational’
thrombocytopenia: 75%
Chronic ITP:
usually affects young women (female to male ratio
= 3:1)
quite commonly encountered in pregnancy
1- 2 in 10,000 pregnancies.
Aboubakr Elnashar
4. Alloimmune thrombocytopenia
fetal disorder
caused by fetomaternal incompatibility for platelet
antigens (similar to Rhesus haemolytic disease of
the newborn).
no maternal symptoms and the mother is not
thrombocytopenic.
The condition develops in utero
affects all children including the firstborn, but is
usually (except in the case of subsequent siblings)
diagnosed after birth.
The incidence: 1 in 2000
10% of all cases of neonatal thrombocytopenia.
Aboubakr Elnashar
6. ITP:
Haemorrhage is unlikely with platelet counts >50 ×
109/L
spontaneous haemorrhage without surgery is
unlikely with counts >20 × 109/L.
Patients may present with
skin bruising or
gum bleeding, but
severe haemorrhage is rare.
isolated thrombocytopenia without any associated
haematological abnormality.
no splenomegaly or lymphadenopathy.
Aboubakr Elnashar
7. Thrombocytopenia in the first half of pregnancy
less likely to be due to the pregnancy itself and
should alert the clinician to a possible diagnosis of
ITP.
Aboubakr Elnashar
8. Pathogenesis
Gestational thrombocytopenia
The platelet count tends to fall progressively during
normal pregnancy
in 5% to 10% of women the count will reach
thrombocytopenic levels (50–150 × 109/L) by term.
Aboubakr Elnashar
9. ITP
Autoantibodies against platelet surface antigens:
peripheral platelet destruction by the
reticuloendothelial system, particularly the spleen.
Aboubakr Elnashar
10. Diagnosis
ITP
By exclusion of other causes of thrombocytopenia,
e,g. infection, PET
Bone marrow: normal or megakaryocytic
bone marrow examination is not necessary in
pregnancy in cases of isolated thrombocytopenia
unless it is severe (platelet count <30 × 109/L).
Antiplatelet antibody determination:
not readily available
not helpful in the diagnosis of ITP in pregnancy
{absence of antiplatelet antibodies does not exclude
the diagnosis of ITP}.
Aboubakr Elnashar
11. Effect of pregnancy on ITP
No effect on the course of ITP
Anxieties arise around the time of
delivery{possible bleeding associated with vaginal
and abdominal delivery and regional anaesthesia
and analgesia}.
Aboubakr Elnashar
12. Effect of ITP on pregnancy
Maternal:
Capillary bleeding and purpura: unlikely with a
platelet count of >50 × 109/L,
spontaneous mucous membrane bleeding: not a
risk with platelet counts >20× 109/L.
Aboubakr Elnashar
13. Foetal:
Antiplatelet IgG can cross the placenta: fetal
thrombocytopenia.
Accurate prediction of the fetal platelet count from
maternal platelet count
antibody level or
splenectomy status is not possible: it is difficult to
predict which fetuses will be affected.
The level of risk to the fetus, which has been
overestimated in older studies, is small, in contrast
to the fetal risk in alloimmune thrombocytopenia
The risk of fetal platelet counts <50 × 109/L:
5%- 10%
10–15% in women known to have ITP before
pregnancy and in those with symptomatic ITP in the
index pregnancy. Aboubakr Elnashar
14. The incidence of antenatal or neonatal intracranial
haemorrhage in women with ITP:
0% to 1.5%
lowest in the absence of maternal symptoms or a
history of ITP prior to the index pregnancy.
Best predictors of severe neonatal
thrombocytopenia: previously affected child, and
the incidence of serious haemorrhage in the fetus
and neonate is low.
Aboubakr Elnashar
16. ITP
Maternal considerations
Exclude associated conditions such as SLE or
APS.
The platelet count monitored: monthly and then
more frequently in the third trimester: therapy can
be instituted if required prior to delivery.
Treatment is only required in the first and third
trimesters if:
– The woman is symptomatic with bleeding
– The platelet count is <20 × 109/L
– The count needs to be increased prior to a
procedure such as CVS.
Aboubakr Elnashar
17. Counts<50×109/L: even in the absence of bleeding
prophylactic treatment prior to delivery.
Counts 50 to 80×109/L:
treatment prior to delivery in order to facilitate safe
administration of regional analgesia/anaesthesia.
CS:
only required for obstetric indications
Epidural and spinal anaesthesia:
safe with stable counts >75 to 80 × 109/L.
Bleeding time:
does not predict haemorrhage and is not indicated.
Aboubakr Elnashar
18. Corticosteroids:
first-line therapy
Dose:
•outside pregnancy: high doses (60–80 mg/day, 1
mg/kg/day) of prednisolone are usually given for
newly diagnosed ITP
•in pregnancy: lower doses (20–30 mg/day), which
are safe and effective.
•Following this, the dose may be weaned to the
lowest that will maintain a satisfactory (>50 × 109/L)
maternal platelet count.
Aboubakr Elnashar
19. Anti-D immunoglobulin therapy
given as an intravenous bolus
raise platelet counts in non-splenectomised
rhesus-positive women.
by creating a decoy to competitively inhibit the
destruction of antibody-coated platelets.
Doses:
50 to 70 g/kg.
safe and effective in the second and third
trimesters.
The baby should be monitored for neonatal
jaundice, anaemia, and direct antiglobulin test
positivity after delivery.
Aboubakr Elnashar
20. Splenectomy
should be avoided in pregnancy if possible
may be necessary in extreme cases. Ideally it
should be performed in the second trimester
can at this stage be performed laparoscopically.
Women with ITP who have previously been treated
with splenectomy should continue penicillin
prophylaxis throughout pregnancy.
Aboubakr Elnashar
21. Other options for women who fail to respond to
oral prednisolone and IVIg:
i.v. methylprednisolone
azathioprine or ciclosporin.
Although not recommended, danazol and
vincristine have been successfully used for severe
resistant cases in pregnancy.
Aboubakr Elnashar
22. Platelet transfusions
as a last resort for bleeding or prior to surgery
will increase antibody titres and do not result in a
sustained increase in platelet counts.
Aboubakr Elnashar
23. Fetal considerations
Transfer of IgG increases at the end of pregnancy
and the baby is not at risk of bleeding before labour
and delivery: no place for serial fetal blood samples
earlier in gestation.
CS: only indicated for obstetric reasons {No
evidence that CS reduces the incidence of ICH, or
that it is less traumatic for the fetus than vaginal
delivery.
The risk of fetal blood sampling via cordocentesis
(cord spasm, haemorrhage from the cord puncture
site) is similar (or even higher in thrombocytopenic
fetuses) to the risk of intracerebral haemorrhage
(ICH).
Aboubakr Elnashar
24. Neonate:
Cord platelet count
determined immediately after delivery
platelet count only reaches a nadir after two to five
days in affected infants {when splenic circulation is
established}: most hemorrhagic events occur 24 to
48 hs after delivery at the nadir of the platelet count:
monitoring is necessary over this time.
IVIg indications
Bleeding
severe thrombocytopenia
platelet count of the cord blood is low (<20 ×
109/L).
Aboubakr Elnashar
25. Immune thrombocytopenia
The diagnosis of ITP is one of exclusion and
should only be made once other causes of
thrombocytopenia have been excluded.
Bleeding is unlikely if the platelet count is >50 ×
109/L.
The risk of serious thrombocytopenia and
haemorrhage in the neonate from transplacental
passage of antiplatelet IgG is low.
CS is only required for obstetric indications
Epidural and spinal anaesthesia/analgesia are safe
with stable counts >75 to 80 × 109/L.
Treatment, if required, should be with
corticosteroids or IVIg.
Aboubakr Elnashar