Etiologies and sequelae of extreme thrombocytosis in a large pediatric hospital

Abstract

Extreme thrombocytosis (ET, platelet count >1000 × 103/ul) is an uncommon clinical finding 1. Primary ET is associated with myeloproliferative disorders, such as essential thrombocythemia 2. Secondary ET is more common and occurs in reaction to infection, inflammation, or iron deficiency. Bleeding and thrombotic complications more frequently arise in primary ET cases 1, but have been reported with secondary ET in adults 3. Etiologies and complications associated with ET in children are less well-defined, as prior pediatric studies have been relatively small or restricted to specialized patient populations 4,5. We aimed to characterize ET in a large, single-center pediatric cohort.