Refractoriness to platelet transfusion following double valve replacement in an ITP patient who had undergone splenectomy

A surgical case of aortic valve replacement in patient with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

A 64-year-old man was presented to another hospital with bleeding from the upper jaw with a platelet count of 0.1 x 10(4)/microl one year ago, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura complicated with aortic stenosis and regurgitation was diagnosed. Corticosteroid administration was initiated and the patient was admitted to our hospital for surgery two months after confirmation of symptoms associated with cerebral ischemia. Corticosteroid was administered for one year until the day of surgery, and aortic valve replacement was performed with a platelet count of 8.4 x 10(4)/microl. During surgery, bleeding tendency with decreased platelets was confirmed, which was corrected with intraoperative platelet transfusion, postoperative gamma-globulin administration, and postoperative oral corticosteroid administration. Caution must be exercised against perioperative bleeding tendency in open heart surgery, even when platelet count is maintained using small amounts of preoperative corticosteroid.

Refractoriness to platelet transfusion

This review discusses the causes of refractoriness to platelet transfusions and presents three options for its management. Platelet refractoriness is a complication of platelet transfusion that affects variable proportions of patients, mostly depending on their diagnosis, previous immunologic stimuli, and type of blood products used for transfusion. A large recent study showed that platelet refractoriness develops in 13% of patients with acute leukemia transfused with traditional blood products and in 3 to 4% of recipients of white cell-reduced blood components. Options to manage platelet refractoriness include platelets from HLA-typed donors, platelet cross-matching, and the antibody specificity prediction method. The selection of the most convenient approach depends on local skills and the available economic and organizational resources. Finally, emerging concepts are presented which could impact the management of platelet refractoriness.