Persistence of low platelet adhesiveness in von Willebrand disease during pregnancy

Platelet adhesiveness (PA) is a valuable measure of ex vivo platelet function. A low PA is a usual feature of von Willebrand disease (vWd). However, PA has rarely been measured during vWd pregnancies. The aim of this work was to observe the behaviour of PA in vWd pregnancies. PA was measured during pregnancy in 33 vWd patients. Intrapregnancy PA remained low without any significant variation compared with non-pregnancy values. Advanced gestation was not accompanied by any increase in PA in spite of the concomitant normalization showed by the other markers of vWd. A low intrapregnancy value was not predictive of an increased risk of bleeding at labour. A low PA could be the only clue for vWd during gestation warranting both a vigilant postpartum attitude and a thorough haemostatic evaluation after pregnancy.