A Simple Guide to Platelet Disorders, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

This book describes Platelet Disorders, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

The blood is made up of different kinds of cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Platelets have an important part in the recovery of all forms of injuries that cause bleeding.

The body requires platelets to produce blood clots and stop the bleeding.

Platelets, also called thrombocytes, act together with proteins called clotting factors to help the body stop bleeding at an injury location.

They are necessary for producing the body’s blood clot.

A platelet disorder indicates that injured blood vessels will not clot rapidly, bleed more than normal, and also recover more slowly.

In people with a platelet disorder, the clot of platelets at the site of bleeding does not form properly.

The bleeding is likely to continue longer than it normally should.

Platelet disorders can also involve the later stages of blood clotting, which can be particularly hazardous after a serious injury or intensive surgery.

There are 3 types of disorders that affect the platelets in the body:

1. Thrombocytopenia:
The disorder happens when there are too few platelets in circulation within the body.

2. Thrombocythemia:
This is a disorder where there are too many platelets in circulation in the body.

3. Dysfunction Disorders:
These disorders develop when there is the correct number of platelets in circulation, but these platelets are not functioning properly.

All these disorders induce interference in the clotting process, causing abnormal clot production and more bleeding.

Normally symptoms of a platelet disorder are similar such as bleeding from the nose, mouth, or the digestive system, bruising easily from minor injury, and excessive bleeding after surgery or trauma.

These symptoms normally become obvious soon after birth once the umbilical cord is severed or later on during childhood while teething or when the child begins to become more active and falls down or becomes injured.

Platelets are cell fragments that circulate in the bloodstream and assist the blood to clot.

Thrombopoietin, mainly produced in the liver, activates the bone marrow to produce large cells (megakaryocytes), which in turn die and release platelets from their cytoplasm.

Platelets that are not utilized in clots flow in the blood stream for 7 to 10 days and are then destroyed.

About 33% are always stored in the spleen.

Platelet disorders are normally inherited but they can also be acquired.

Acquired platelet function disorders are normally produced by some health disorders, certain medicines, and even some foods.

People with inherited platelet disorders tend likely to have a lifelong history of having extreme bleeding or easy bruising after even minor injuries or minor surgeries such as dental extractions.

Other symptoms of platelet disorders may be the appearance of tiny red dots known as petechiae on the skin, along with bruising after minor injuries.

1.A full blood count (FBC) that gives details of the number of blood cells including platelets
2.Platelet aggregation studies will be done to examine how sticky the platelets are

Low platelet disorders are more common than high platelets.

The most frequent treatment is desmopressin (DDAVP) which acts to raise the levels of platelets in the blood by releasing them from the spleen where they are being stored.

Platelet transfusions may be required in very rare cases.

For very severe disorders, the only treatment presently is a stem cell or a bone marrow transplant

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Platelet Disorders
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 High Platelets
Chapter 8 Low Platelets
Epilogue