Management of refractory immune thrombocytopaenia in pregnancy

A 25-year-old woman with a history of immune thrombocytopaenia (ITP) in childhood was referred to haematology clinic for review with a platelet count of 50 μ/L at 9 weeks gestation, gravida 2, para 0. She developed progressive severe thrombocytopaenia as the pregnancy progressed, with associated bleeding complications. The thrombocytopaenia was refractory to standard therapies. This led to a need for a planned delivery, which was performed via caesarean section under general anaesthetic with platelet transfusion support, Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG), high-dose corticosteroid and the thrombopoietin (TPO) mimetic romiplostim. Both the mother and the neonate survived; however, the neonate required treatment for severe prolonged neonatal thrombocytopaenia. The patient subsequently re-presented 15 months later with recurrent ITP complicating another pregnancy, refractory to rituximab but responsive to romiplostim. She had a successful elective caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia, but the neonate once again suffered severe thrombocytopaenia, which was responsive to IVIG.