Frequency of Thrombocytopenia in Neonates Presenting with Neonatal Sepsis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61919/jhrr.v3i2.1730Keywords:
Neonatal sepsis, thrombocytopenia, platelet count, Gram-negative bacteria, neonatal mortality, hematological complicationsAbstract
Background: Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates, often associated with thrombocytopenia. Early recognition and management are critical for improving outcomes. Thrombocytopenia is a frequent hematological abnormality in septic neonates, yet its frequency and associated factors require further investigation.
Objective: To determine the frequency of thrombocytopenia in neonates with sepsis at a tertiary care hospital and evaluate its association with demographic and clinical factors.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over six months at the Department of Pediatrics, Balochistan Institute of Child Health Services, Quetta. A total of 246 neonates with confirmed neonatal sepsis, aged less than 28 days, were included using non-probability consecutive sampling. Blood samples were collected for platelet count and bacterial culture. Thrombocytopenia was defined as a platelet count <150 × 10⁹/L. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, with Chi-square tests and logistic regression applied to assess associations.
Results: The mean age of the neonates was 8.92 ± 5.40 days; 117 (47.56%) were male, and 129 (52.44%) were female. Thrombocytopenia was identified in 63 (25.61%) neonates. Gram-negative sepsis was predominant (63.82%). No statistically significant association was found between thrombocytopenia and gender (p = 0.991) or culture type (p = 0.141).
Conclusion: Thrombocytopenia was observed in a quarter of septic neonates. Routine platelet monitoring in neonatal sepsis is essential for early detection and management to improve outcomes.
Downloads
References
Christensen RD, Henry E, Wiedmeier SE, Stoddard RA, Sola-Visner MC, Lambert DK, et al. Thrombocytopenia Among Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonates: Data From a Multihospital Healthcare System. Journal of Perinatology. 2006;26(6):348–53.
Akarsu S, Taskin E, Kilic M, Ozdiller S, Gurgoze MK, Yilmaz E, et al. The Effects of Different Infectious Organisms on Platelet Counts and Platelet Indices in Neonates With Neonatal Sepsis: Is There an Organism-Specific Response? Journal of Tropical Pediatrics. 2005;51(6):388–91.
Arif SH, Ahmad I, Ali SM, Khan HM. Thrombocytopenia and Bacterial Sepsis in Neonates. Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. 2012;28(3):147–51.
Murray NA, Howarth LJ, McCloy MP, Letsky EA, Roberts IA. Platelet Transfusion in the Management of Severe Thrombocytopenia in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients. Transfusion Medicine. 2002;12(1):35–41.
Ree IM, Fustolo-Gunnink SF, Bekker V, Fijnvandraat KJ, Steggerda SJ, Lopriore E. Thrombocytopenia in Neonatal Sepsis: Incidence, Severity, and Risk Factors. PLoS One. 2017;12(10):e0185581.
Levit OL, Bhandari V, Li FY, Shabanova V, Gallagher PG, Bizzarro MJ. Clinical and Laboratory Factors That Predict Death in Very Low Birth Weight Infants Presenting With Late-Onset Neonatal Sepsis. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2014;33(2):143–7.
Ahmad MS, Waheed A. Platelet Counts, MPV and PDW in Culture-Proven and Probable Neonatal Sepsis and Association of Platelet Counts With Mortality Rate. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. 2014;24(5):340–4.
Addil F, Rehman A, Najeeb S, Imtiaz H, Khan S. Neonatal Sepsis: The Frequency of Thrombocytopenia. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy. 2021;12(6):442–4.
Sindhura YS, Reddy KR. A Study of Neonatal Thrombocytopenia in Neonatal Sepsis. International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research. 2017;4(11):2250–2.
Bhat S, Naik S, Rafiq W, Tariq A, Ahmed A. Incidence of Thrombocytopenia and Changes in Various Platelet Parameters in Blood Culture-Positive Neonatal Sepsis. International Journal of Pediatrics. 2015;3(4.1):757–66.
Bhat MA, Bhat JI, Kawoosa MS, Ahmad SM, Ali SW. Organism-Specific Platelet Response and Factors Affecting Survival in Thrombocytopenic Very Low Birth Weight Babies With Neonatal Sepsis. Journal of Perinatology. 2009;29(10):702–8.
Bhat YR, Kousika P, Lewis LE, Purkayastha J. Prevalence and Severity of Thrombocytopenia in Blood Culture-Proven Neonatal Sepsis: A Prospective Study. Archives of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 2018;6(2):e61850.
Arif H, Ikram N, Riaz S, Nafisa A. Risk Factors and Outcome of Neonatal Thrombocytopenia. Journal of Rawalpindi Medical College. 2020;24(3):229–34.
Arif SH, Ahmad I, Ali SM, Khan HM. Thrombocytopenia and Bacterial Sepsis in Neonates. Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. 2012;28(3):147–51.
Sindhura YS, Reddy KR. A Study of Neonatal Thrombocytopenia in Neonatal Sepsis. International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research. 2017;4(11):2250–2.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Nimra Zafar, Ursila Anwar, Shamayal Mandokhel, Sharoon Javed, Zarafshan Khan, Bilal Masood
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Public Licensing Terms
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Under this license:
- You are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, including commercial use.
- Attribution must be given to the original author(s) and source in a manner that is reasonable and does not imply endorsement.
- No additional restrictions may be applied that conflict with the terms of this license.
For more details, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
