Thrombocytopenia in preeclampsia: an earlier detector of HELLP syndrome

Platelet count was determined in eighty four pregnant women by direct visual method. Among them thirty normal pregnant women were taken as control. Twenty-seven were preeclamptic and twenty seven eclamptic women. There was significant (P < 0.01) reduction in platelet count of preeclamptic and highly significant (P < 0.001) in eclamptic women as compared to controls. It is concluded that there is need to do platelet count in all pregnancy induced hypertensive women, which can be an earlier detector for HELLP syndrome.