Methods: An algorithm was designed to enroll the neonates with thrombocytopenia and then with the help of clinical assessment and laboratory investigations, assess them for the most probable cause of thrombocytopenia in them. The enrolled neonates were firstly classified based on the severity of thrombocytopenia; i.e Mild, Moderate and Severe. After, clinical assessment and laboratory investigations, the thrombocytopenic neonates were then associated with probable causes of thrombocytopenia. The study also assessed the degree of bleeds in thrombocytopenic patients. We studied the prevalence of thrombocytopenia in the present study, which included the proportion of severity of thrombocytopenia as well. 

Results: The duration of enrolment of this study was a time period of 1 year and 7 months. In this period a total of 6,237 neonates were admitted, out of which 1,154 neonates were included in this study, as their platelet count was less than 1,50,000/µL. The prevalence of thrombocytopenia in our setup which is a tertiary care centre was 18.5%. The severity of thrombocytopenia was also assessed, that showed 38.3% of patients to be mild thrombocytopenic, followed by moderate (34%) and severe (27.8%) thrombocytopenic neonates. The study also assessed the thrombocytopenic neonates for the probable cause leading to a decrease in the platelet count, in which it was observed that Neonatal Sepsis was the most prevalent cause that led to neonatal thrombocytopenia in our setup, followed by Birth Asphyxia, prematurity and IUGR. 

Background: Neonatal thrombocytopenia can be defined as a platelet count less than 150000/μL at birth. Thrombocytopenia presented in the first 72 hours of life, is due to placental insufficiency and reduction in the production of platelets, and are usually mild or moderate. When presented after 72 hours of life, it is due to sepsis or Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), and is severe and long lasting