Thrombocytopenia in critically ill patients: single center data analysis
, 2, 2, 2
Abstract
Introduction: Thrombocytopenia (TP) is one of the most frequent abnormalities of hemostasis found in laboratory tests in critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and most probable causes of TP in patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Material and methods: The documentation of all patients hospitalized in 2019 was analyzed retrospectively in the ICU of the university hospital. Patients diagnosed with TP at admission to the ward or during hospitalization were identified. Potential factors influencing the platelet count were analyzed.
Results: During the analyzed period, 291 patients were hospitalized. In 93 patients (32%), TP was diagnosed, including 61 patients at admission (21%), and the remaining 32 patients (11%) during hospitalization. Patients with TP had higher SAPS II, APACHE II and SOFA scores than patients without TP (p <0.001 for all). Mortality in patients with TP was twice as high as in patients without TP (58% vs. 29%, p <0.001). In 18 patients (6%), only one cause of TP was potentially identified, while in 39 patients (13%), four or more factors that could potentially cause TP were identified.
Conclusions: Thrombocytopenia is a relatively common problem in the critically ill population, but due to the challenges in differential diagnosis, a reliable assessment of the causes of its occurrence is difficult.
Keywords: thrombocytopeniacritical careintensive care unit
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