Pregnancy with Essential Thrombocythemia: A Case Report

Abstract

Summary Objective We describe a woman with essential thrombocythemia (ET) who experienced a successful pregnancy with no specific treatment. Case Report A 30-year-old primiparous female was incidentally found to have ET with no specific symptoms at a gestational age (GA) of 8 weeks. Initially, her platelet count was 1,100 × 10 9 /L, which declined to a median of 678 × 10 9 /L (range, 663–753 × 10 9 /L) during the second and third trimesters, without treatment. A healthy male baby weighing 3,330 g was born by cesarean delivery due to breech presentation at a GA of 38 weeks. The pre-delivery platelet count was 605 × 10 9 /L. No bleeding or major thromboembolic complications were encountered in the peripartum period. The maternal platelet count returned to 1,230 × 10 9 /L and 1,320 × 10 9 /L, respectively, at 2 months and 3 years after delivery. The child had normal physical and mental development at 2 years and 9 months old. Conclusion Management of ET during pregnancy is still controversial. Platelet count, either at diagnosis or at conception, fails to predict the pregnancy outcome. The treatment plan should be based on clinical judgment that weighs the risk of thrombohemorrhagic complications against related morbidity and side effects.