Clumping platelets?

[Otterfield]

Does anyone here know anything about possible clumping platelets? My platelets have been dropping steadily and are now at 49. I don't have any bruising or nosebleeds or anything and my haematology nurse has ordered a blood film with my next blood test to see if they are clumping and causing a falsely low reading.

Obviously I have to wait to find out but in the meantime if anyone has any thoughts, experience, info, I would be grateful.

I have post ET MF, on Ruxolitinib.

Thanks all, Jennie

[cmc_ufl]

A blood smear would show this. If you haven’t had that done, I would ask for it.

[Otterfield in reply to cmc_ufl]

Thank you. I think that's what the nurse meant by a blood film.

[cmc_ufl in reply to Otterfield]

Yes, sorry I missed that you mentioned a blood film in your post. A blood film and blood smear are the same thing. This will show you whether there is clumping.

[clubdino]

Hello. I'm sorry to hear about your platelets dropping. I used to read blood smears in the veterinary field so I know what it looks like when platelets clump. Sometimes when the blood is drawn if it is a difficult stick the platelets will activate and they clump together and it makes it difficult to get an accurate platelet count because the machine can not read each single platelet. It makes the platelet count falsely low. Same thing happens when the smear is read by human eyes. If you can't count each single platelet on the window then you can't give an accurate count. By ordering a blood film to be read by human eyes they can verify if the count is accurate or not. I hope everything goes ok at your appt. ❤

*If you look through some of my older posts you can see what a clump looks like as I posted a picture of one. I called it big mama clump or something like that. Also, I believe that spontaneous bleeding usually does not occur until platelets are under 30k.

[Otterfield in reply to clubdino]

Thank you, that's really helpful and informative. I shall look for your previous post. And many thanks for your good wishes - MPNs are scary aren't they? Jennie

[Lill57 in reply to clubdino]

Does anybody have high platelets?

[Pte82]

Magnesium keeps platelets from sticking together. Here is an article that may better explain in a blood test setting.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[Otterfield in reply to Pte82]

Thank you, an interesting article. I shall read it in more detail when I'm feeling more awake tomorrow.

[JediReject]

Hi Jennie, , I can't recall but do you have an enlarged spleen or very big spleen as that can reduce the number of platelets in circulation. My spleen was the culprits in absorbing my platelet transfusions post Transplant. Regards - Chris

[Otterfield in reply to JediReject]

Thanks for your reply. Ruxolitinib has done a good job at shrinking my spleen, although it's not a "normal" size. My platelets hovered around 100 for a few months but recently they've been falling steadily which seems strange.

[jointpain]

Hi Jennie. I know clumping platelets can occur in vitro, and that you should not worry unduly over the low number you have been given. My wife has MF and the past two blood tests showed up "giant platelets" and in the most recent, possible "clumping platelets". We were not aware of the earlier giant platelets until the last FBC. As she had a few bags of blood RBC platelet depleted a couple of weeks before due to a bleed, so her bloods figures were all over the place. We questioned the recent FBC which showed her platelet count as 153 with a note "platelet clumps?" When her normal figure is 270 to 370, while on anagrelide and hydroxycarbamide. The consultant reckoned it was in vitro clumping, and as he will have seen the slide by the time we asked, is probably true.Hope your results pan out well for you.

[Otterfield in reply to jointpain]

Thank you very much for sharing that experience and reassuring me. Best wishes to both you and your wife.