How to approach thrombocytopenia in pregnancy

Abstract

Thrombocytopenia is a common fi nding in pregnancy, occuring in approximately 10% of pregnancies. There are many causes of pregnancy-associated thrombocytopenia, some of these are unique to pregnancy, whereas other may also occur in the non-pregnant setting. Overall about 75% of cases are due to gestational thrombocytopenia, 20% are secondary to preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome and 3–4% are due to immune process. Other causes of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy are very rare and responsible for 1–2% of all cases. In this review, a diagnostic approach to investigating thrombocytopenia in pregnancy is presented followed by a detailed discussion on the specifi c causes
of thrombocytopenia and the management options in each case.