Abstract

STUDYING THE EFFECT OF SPINAL ANESTHESIA ON PLATELET FUNCTION UNDERGOING CESAREAN SECTION

Mubeen Ali Mousa* and Mohammed Hadi Jebur

Abstract

In clinical practice, the only tests of platelet function are bleeding time and platelet number. Bleeding time lacks sensitivity and specificity but the PFA‐100, an in vitro analyser of platelet function may be of value. This study aimed to evaluate any correlation between platelet number and function using the PFA‐100 in pregnant women. During a 21‐month period, platelet function was evaluated in whole blood as part of the pre‐anaesthetic coagulation testing screen with the PFA‐100 using collagen and epinephrine (PFA‐EPI) or ADP (PFA‐ADP) as platelet agonists. Thrombocytopenia was defined as a platelet number less than 150 G litre–1. The patients were divided into four groups. The increased PFA values and the correlation between PFA‐ADP and platelet number in hypertensive thrombocytopenic women confirm that platelet function may be decreased in such patients. In patients with pregnancy‐induced thrombocytopenia, platelet function may be preserved when the platelet count is as low as 60 G litre–1.

Keywords: Spinal anesthesia, platelet function, casarean section.