Comparative Study of Platelet Count in Different Trimesters of Pregnancy and in Non- Pregnant Women of Same Age Group.

Thrombocytes are essential for hemostasis. Increase as well as decrease in platelet count has been reported to affect the outcome of pregnancy in various studies. This study was done to find if there was any variation in the total count of platelets in the peripheral blood in different trimesters of pregnancy, when compared to the nonpregnant individuals of same age group in the local population. Peripheral blood samples were taken from pregnant women of 18-36 years of age. 20 subjects of each trimester were tested. Samples were collected from 20 non-pregnant subjects of comparable age group for control. Platelet count was done by Brecher and Cronkite method. In the non-pregnant group, the mean platelet count was 208500 per cu mm of blood (±50157). The mean platelet counts per cu mm of blood in the three consecutive trimesters were: 255900, 274800 and 283900 respectively. All the values were significantly higher (p<0.001) when compared to the non-pregnant group. Our study shows there is a definite rise in the total platelet count as pregnancy progresses towards completion. But the count does not exceed the reference values as per international standard.

Haematological parameters in Malaria.

Malaria accounts for majority of the cases of acute febrile illness with predominance of P.falciparum during the malaria transmission period. Alterations in hematological parameters in the form of anemia and thrombocytopenia are frequently encountered in malaria, especially P.falciparum malaria. Low hemoglobin value and thrombocytopenia increase the probability of malaria in cases of acute febrile illness. Platelet count below 150,000 cells/cu.mm in cases acute fever is single most important parameter indicative of malaria.

Platelet estimation: its prognostic value in pregnancy induced hypertension.

Thrombocytopenia is an associated phenomenon of Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). But the accurate count of platelets either by manual, (direct or indirect methods) or by automated cell counters is not feasible for all patients at all hospitals. Therefore we have adopted the method of platelet estimation, not platelet count as an alternate procedure to estimate the degree of thrombocytopenia in patients with PIH cases. We included 30 normal pregnant women and 90 pregnant women with varying degree of PIH. Blood platelets were estimated by an accepted manual method. Platelet numbers were found to be 2.38 lacs/mm3 +/- 0.33 in control group, 2.23 lacs/mm3 +/- 0.19 in mild PIH, 1.82 lakhs/mm3 +/- 0.45 in pre eclampsia and 1.21 lacs/mm3 +/- 0.49 in eclampsia. This indicated that there is an inverse relationship between the severity of PIH and platelet numbers. So this method of platelet estimation is useful as a rapid method of assessment in PIH. This method is not only rapid and cheap but can be done even in rural hospital settings.