ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Thrombocytopenia is a major complication of liver disease that impairs liver cirrhosis treatment by restraining administrative therapy and surgical or diagnostic planning delaying which in turn increases the bleeding risk. The present study aimed to evaluate the frequency and severity of thrombocytopenia in liver cirrhosis patients.

Materials and Methods:  This cross-sectional study was carried out on 88 liver cirrhosis patients in the department of Gastroenterology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore from November 2020 to June 2021. Individuals with cirrhosis disease were evaluated for the severity of thrombocytopenia. All the cirrhosis patients with age>14 years of either gender were enrolled while aplastic anemia cases, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, drug therapy patients, osteopetrosis, cases of repeated blood or platelet transfusion history,  myelodysplastic syndrome, and refusal to informed consent were all excluded. The demographic details, clinical examination, and treatment plan were assessed. A platelet count test was performed on all cirrhosis patients. Thrombocytopenia severity was divided into three categories: mild thrombocytopenia (50,000/l), moderate thrombocytopenia (20,000/l), and severe thrombocytopenia (10,000/l). SPSS version 20 was used for descriptive analysis.

Results: Of the total 88 cirrhosis patients, 62 (70.5%) were male and 26 (29.5%) were females. All the cirrhosis patients were assessed for thrombocytopenia. The overall mean age was 39.41±11.56 years.  Out of 88 cirrhosis patients, the prevalence of thrombocytopenia was 63 (71.2%). Of the 63 thrombocytopenia diagnosed cirrhosis patients, 41 (65%) were male and 22 (35%) were females. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe thrombocytopenia was 21 (33.3%), 23 (36.5%), and 19 (30.2%) respectively. 

Conclusion: Our study concluded that thrombocytopenia prevalence was 71.2% in liver cirrhosis patients. The assessment and monitoring of platelet count identified the thrombocytopenia among liver cirrhosis. Moreover, the severity of bleeding episode that might cause fatality were reduced. 

Keywords: Thrombocytopenia; Liver Cirrhosis; Severity; Platelet