[Severe neonatal thrombopenia. Analysis of the etiologic data on 64 cases]

In many cases of neonatal thrombocytopenia, etiology does not fit with usually known causes. Analyzing, in an intensive care unit, 64 cases of severe neonatal thrombocytopenia (platelets less than 50 x 10(9)/l before hour 72), the authors attempted to determine other possible causes of the disorder. In this study, classical etiologies were present in 33% of cases. In the other 67%, hypotrophy and/or hypoxia were significantly more frequent (p less than 0.01) than in the first group. With reference to clinical and experimental data in the literature, the possible role of acute or chronic hypoxia as a cause of thrombocytopenia is discussed.