In the vast majority of cases, the program of any laboratory examination of a patient with diseases of almost any organ or system of the body begins with a clinical blood test. This study studies the cellular composition of the blood, as well as the study of the properties of these cellular elements. It is changes in the hematopoietic system that occur most quickly and are among the first to signal imminent ill-being, and in the results of a clinical blood test, changes in one, two or three hematopoietic sprouts can be detected, so you need to pay attention to both lowered and increased platelets, white blood cells or red blood cells.
Change in platelet count - a reason to beware
In the human body, platelets have an important function - these colorless cells are directly involved in the processes of blood coagulation; accordingly, when the number of these cells changes, disturbances arise in the blood coagulation system. Elevated platelets, regardless of the cause of this condition, can cause blood clots, while a reduced number of these cells causes bleeding or hemorrhage under the skin. Platelets of peripheral blood in the range of 180-320 * 109 / l are considered normal indicators for adult patients, while in children, especially in the period of neonatality and early age (up to 3 years), platelets are almost always increased in the clinical blood test.
Undoubtedly, most patients are worried about a sharp decrease in platelet count below the age norm, although even with severe thrombocytopenia, critical consequences for the body develop when their number falls below 20 * 109 / L and almost never affects patients if the platelets are elevated. The causes of this condition can be very different - from the occurrence of physiological thickening of the blood with excessive loss of fluid through the skin or mucous membrane of the intestine or respiratory tract, for example, in hot weather or the occurrence of intestinal disorders, to those moments when elevated platelets indicate the occurrence of diseases of the body.
Increased platelet count as a symptom of disease
In the overwhelming majority of cases, elevated platelets occur in the pathology of bone marrow hematopoiesis, and this symptom can occur both in case of damage to a platelet germ and in total damage to the bone marrow, for example, with the development of myeloproliferative diseases (chronic leukemia, myelodysplasia, subleukemic myelosis).
Much less often, an increased platelet count occurs after surgical interventions in which for one reason or another it is necessary to remove the spleen - for example, with its injuries, tumors or diseases in which the platelet count has constantly decreased, and removing the spleen has become a desperation operation. In this case, the increase in platelet level occurs because it is the spleen that under normal conditions becomes the “cemetery” of these blood cells, and in the liver, the red blood cells are utilized to a greater extent.
Very rarely, elevated platelets become symptoms of some viral diseases, but such thrombocytosis comes very quickly and can only be detected by accidental sampling during the active spread of the virus in the body.
Thrombocytosis. Does it need to be treated?
In the vast majority of cases, it is necessary to treat an increased number of platelets only with a sharp increase in them, which threatens the development of thrombosis. To make a decision in each specific case, it is necessary to conduct dynamic monitoring of the indicators of a clinical blood test, and also, with the progression of thrombocytosis, sternal puncture and trepanobiopsy of the ilium wing are performed. Examination of bone marrow and the study of bone structure helps to understand whether an increased platelet count is a variant of the physiological norm or the first symptom of a dangerous disease.