Thrombocytopenia of newborns: an observational study

Thrombocytopenia is a common abnormality in neonates. The etiology of neonatal thrombocytopenia ranges from common acquired causes such as immune-mediated thrombocytopenia and sepsis to rare congenital syndromes. There may be objective difficulties in identifying the causes of thrombocytopenia in newborns in the clinical practice. All hematological and nonhematological features of a newborn and his family members must be taken into account for an accurate diagnosis. In our study, we analysed a cohort of 52 children with thrombocytopenia developed in the neonatal period and retrospectively assessed the range of their possible clinical diagnoses. The study was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee and the Scientific Council of the Dmitry Rogachev National Medical Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Immunology of Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation. Perinatal infections and sepsis are often associated with thrombocytopenia. Immune thrombocytopenias are still “diagnoses of exclusion”. In 18 (34.6%) cases, molecular genetic testing confirmed rare congenital syndromes associated with thrombocytopenia. Despite various etiology, donor platelet transfusion with or without intravenous immunoglobulin remains the main treatment method of neonatal thrombocytopenia.