Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about thrombocytopenia. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero

to finals.com slash thrombocitopinia or in the hematology section of the zero to finals medicine book.

So let's get straight into it.

Thrombocytopinia is a descriptive term that describes a low platelet count.

And it's a description of a low platelet count rather than a disease in itself.

And this is caused by a number of underlying diseases.

The normal platelet count is between 150 to 450 times 10 to the power of 9 per litre.

And there's a long list of causes of a low platelet count, which can be split into problems

with production of platelets or problems with destruction of platelets. So problems with production of platelets or problems with destruction of platelets.

So problems with production of platelets are usually where there's some issue with the bone marrow

or with the megacaryocytes.

And this could be due to sepsis, so severe infection, deficiency of vitamin B12 or folic acid,

liver failure, which causes reduced thromboatin production in the liver,

and thromboitin is a chemical that stimulates the production of platelets. It could be due to leukemia,

where there's an issue with the bone marrow, or myelodiceplastic syndrome.

Then there's the causes that are a problem with destruction of platelets.

And this could be due to medications, and some examples of medications that destroy platelets are sodium valproate, which is an anti-apileptic medication or a mood stabilizing medication,

methotrexate, which is used to treat things like

rheumatoid arthritis, isotraternohin, which is used to treat severe acne, antihistamines, and

proton pump inhibitors like omeprosol or lanzoprasol. Another chemical that destroys platelets

is alcohol, so that could be the cause of a low platelet

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