Study of thrombocytopenia in patients of acute febrile illness

Abstract

Introduction: Many viral and bacterial infections result in thrombocytopenia and are most common non-iatrogenic cause of thrombocytopenia. Infections can affect both platelet production and platelet survival. In addition, immune mechanisms can also be a cause, as in immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (ITP) in children following viral infection. In our setup, tropical infections like malaria, dengue and leptospirosis formed the most common and important causes of thrombocytopenia. Objectives: To correlate the bleeding manifestations of thrombocytopenia with platelet count in patients with acute febrile illness and to document the incidence of thrombocytopenia and most common cause of thrombocytopenia among patients with acute febrile illnesses. Methodology: A minimum of 200 patients admitted to tertiary care center with documented fever of >37.5⁰C and platelet count <1,50,000/µL were selected using purposive sampling techniques. They were followed from admission till recovery, discharge or death. Correlation of bleeding  manifestations like petechiae, gum bleeding, hematuria, menorrhagia, epistaxis in relation with lowest platelet count was done along with categorization of patients according to different platelet count ranges. Results: Out of total 200 patients 65% were male and 35% were female.