Neonatal Thrombocytopenia and the Role of the Platelet Mass Index in Platelet Transfusion in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The Association Between Platelet Transfusion and Mortality Rate Among Preterm Neonates in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

“…The most frequent chief complaint among both groups was that of intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) grade I, which aligns with the results of Kasap et al 10 This finding could be attributed to the fact that IVH is associated with lower gestational age (GA < 32 weeks gestation), 20 and the majority of the current study's sample were extremely preterm neonates (GA < 28 weeks), followed by severely preterm neonates (GA 31-28 weeks).…”

“…In contrast, Alsafadi, 15 who studied in Saudi Arabia, and Kasap et al 10 who conducted research in Turkey, reported that male gender was slightly more frequent in their respective samples. Their results were in agreement with the result of Peelen et al 18 who reported that male gender is at higher risk of spontaneous premature delivery, and premature rupture of membrane (PROM) delivery than the female gender.…”

“…These factors can be considered as the study's limitations. 12 Furthermore, Kasap et al 10 in their study in Turkey, found that the mortality rate among neonates who receive platelet transfusions was significantly higher than among those who did not receive platelet transfusions (p < 0.001). This study also used a retrospective design, though it used a larger sample size (395 patients) to overcome the limitation of retrospective design.…”

“…15 Overall, there is uncertainty as to whether or not the elevation of neonatal mortality rates is associated with platelet transfusions or with other factors, such as illness severity. 10,11 Although the practice of platelet transfusions is common in NICUs, there is a wide variety of platelet transfusion practices and guidelines among neonatologists, relating to the involved threshold, and the risk and benefit of transfusion. According to the literature, frequent platelet transfusions among neonates are correlated with the elevation of mortality rate.…”

“…9 Overall, there is uncertainty as to whether the elevation of neonatal mortality rate is associated with platelet transfusions, or with other factors, such as the severity of their illnesses. 10,11 As a result, there are new approaches recently used as alternatives to platelet transfusion, such as the administration of thrombopoietic growth factors, and thrombopoiesis-stimulating agents, done in hopes of reducing the risks associated with platelet transfusions. 11,12 However, the medical responses to those new approaches has not been well recognised.…”