Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: a case study

Jodi Beachy1

  • 1Nationwide Children’s Hospital Neonatal Special Care Unit, Dublin Methodist Hospital Ohio Health, OH, USA. beachyjodi@juno.com

Neonatal Network : NN
|November 5, 2011
PubMed

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) is a life-threatening disorder caused by fetomaternal platelet incompatibility analogous to that seen in rhesus (Rh) disease. In NAIT , maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) antiplatelet antibodies cross the placenta, resulting in rapid destruction and removal of fetal platelets by the reticuloendothelial system. Studies have shown that NAIT has an incidence of 1 of 1,000 live births, with a mortality rate of 10-15 percent and the risk of long-term morbidities up to 20-60 percent if intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) occurs. This column will discuss the pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, morbidities, and treatment of NAIT and conclude with a relevant case study.