Platelet Count Drop After Rapid Deployment Aortic Valve Implantation

A transient postoperative drop in platelet count is an expected finding after aortic valve replacement using extracorporeal circulation. The implantation of the Perceval valve has been associated with a more intense drop of platelet count compared to other bio-prostheses. This study analyses and compares the platelets progression associated with the Perceval and Intuity valves.

The data was collected retrospectively for patients submitted to isolated aortic valve replacement with the Perceval valve (80 patients) and the Intuity valve (141 patients) in our institution between March 2014 and December 2018. The groups were further divided into those who receive platelet transfusion and those who did not.

The minimum values of platelet count were 54% and 67% of the preoperative platelet count in the patients treated with a Perceval and an Intuity valves, respectively (p<0.001). In the patients transfused with platelets, the minimum values were 52% and 79% of the preoperative platelet count, respectively (p<0.01). Recovery of the count was faster in the patients treated with an Intuity valve. Abnormal bleeding and transfusion of packed red blood cells were not significantly different between groups (without platelet transfusion: p=0.71 and p=0.99, respectively; with platelet transfusion: p=0.58 and p=0.99, respectively).

Compared to the Intuity valve, the Perceval valve is associated with a transient, but significant, drop in platelet count. This drop was not associated to an increased risk of bleeding. Platelet transfusion, in this setting, should be judicious and not only ruled by absolute values.