NEW DELHI: Amid rise in cases of dengue and patients seeking platelets transfusion, a well-known city hospital has started using a different test to assess the trend of platelets count.
Immature Platelet Fraction (IPF) is a variable which can be done on a dengue patient with low platelets and if the value is around 10 per cent, it indicates that very soon his platelet count will start improving, in most of the cases, said doctors, adding, IPF per cent can predict the timing of platelet recovery.
"As per the present WHO guidelines, platelet transfusion is not indicated in a stable dengue patients even if the platelet count is less than 10,000. With the availability of new parameters like IPF, very likely that we can predict rise in platelets in a given dengue patients.
"This parameter has helped us in avoiding unnecessary platelet transfusion in few paediatric dengue patients. This is an upcoming marker which can be further developed," said Dhiren Gupta, Senior Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH).
According to Jyoti Kotwal, Chairperson, Department of Haematology and Clinical Pathology, at the hospital, "We have used this diagnostic modality in the paediatric patients of dengue this season. We found that a range of normal IPF at SGRH using 100 normal individuals is 0 to 7.25 per cent. Thus if IPF percentage is more than 7.25 per cent, it means younger regenerating platelets are present and once it crosses 10 per cent, it is likely that platelets will increase over next few hours."
"Dengue season calls for platelet transfusion, sometimes it is not required. Careful clinical watch and monitoring platelets count may help to group the patients under risk category.
IPF is a parameter that can be monitored to predict platelets recovery, so that platelets transfusion can be avoided, money be saved and also the hazards associated with transfusion can be avoided. It holds a great promise of becoming a reliable future guide for decisions concerning platelet transfusions," she added.
IPF is used to asess the production of young platelets from the bone marrow and is being used in neonatal thrombocytopenia (deficiency of platelets in the blood) and to check for engrastment in patients with bone marrow transplants.