THROMBOCYTOPENIA AND PROLONGED BLEEDING TIME IN CIRRHOSIS OF LIVER

Background: Platelets play central role in normal hemostsis. Thrombocytopenia is a common problem in cirrhosis of liver. This study was designed to correlate thrombocytopenia with the bleeding tendency in known cirrhotic patients. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was done in Department of Pathology Gomal Medical College Dera Ismail Khan, from Jan 2006 to December 2008. Blood was taken from the selected patients and routine hematological tests were performed on all the EDTA collected samples. The tests were run on automatic hematology analyzer Nihon Model. In every case a thin film was made & stained with Giemsa & examined under microscope to verify manually the platelets count. Bleeding time was measured in all the patients by using Ivys method. Results: The present study encompassed the evaluation of platelets count in 100 patients of hepatic cirrhosis and 50 normal controls were also included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 49 +/- 14 years. The most common physical signs were splenomegaly and ascites. Among these patients 92 had thrombocytopenia (p<0.01) and 44 had prolonged bleeding time (p<0.001). Conclusion: Thrombocytopenia and prolonged bleeding time are significant findings in cirrhosis of liver.