01:36
Faizan
According to the study "Approach to the Newborn Who Has Thrombocytopenia" conducted by Dr. Wendy Wong and Dr. Bertil Glader and published in the NeoReviews journal in 2004, thrombocytopenia, or low platelet count, is common in sick, pre-term infants, affecting 25 percent of those who are admitted into neonatal intensive care units.
Significance
Platelets are cells that circulate in the blood and play an important role in the blood-clotting process. Without an adequate amount of platelets in the blood, a baby is at risk for hemorrhaging.
Common Cause
According to Mary M. Gottesman, Ph.D., an associate professor of nursing at Ohio State University, low platelet count is most commonly caused by infection. Platelets are consumed by bacterial infections as they work to form clots to stop blood from leaking out of the blood vessels and into the lungs and other parts of the body.
Additional Cause
Pregnant women who have the autoimmune disorder immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) may induce moderate to severe thrombocytopenia in their fetuses, according to the Platelet Disorder Support Association. ITP generally is idiopathic, of unknown cause.
Time Frame
Thrombocytopenia in a newborn baby usually peaks three to five days after delivery with complete platelet count recovery within six to eight weeks.
Significance
Platelets are cells that circulate in the blood and play an important role in the blood-clotting process. Without an adequate amount of platelets in the blood, a baby is at risk for hemorrhaging.
Common Cause
According to Mary M. Gottesman, Ph.D., an associate professor of nursing at Ohio State University, low platelet count is most commonly caused by infection. Platelets are consumed by bacterial infections as they work to form clots to stop blood from leaking out of the blood vessels and into the lungs and other parts of the body.
Additional Cause
Pregnant women who have the autoimmune disorder immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) may induce moderate to severe thrombocytopenia in their fetuses, according to the Platelet Disorder Support Association. ITP generally is idiopathic, of unknown cause.
Time Frame
Thrombocytopenia in a newborn baby usually peaks three to five days after delivery with complete platelet count recovery within six to eight weeks.
