Thrombopoietin levels and peripheral platelet counts following living related donor liver transplantation.
OBJECTIVE
Thrombopoietin is the primary hematopoietic growth factor. Thrombopoietin deficiency may cause thrombocytopenia in advanced liver disease. The aim of our study was to investigate the relevance of thrombopoietin levels to peripheral platelet counts in patients with liver disease who underwent LRDLT (living related donor liver transplantation).


METHODS
We divided the six patients who underwent LRDLT into two groups. Group 1 had thrombocytopenia and group 2 had normal platelet counts. We measured serum thrombopoietin and peripheral platelet counts before and after LRDLT.


RESULTS
Pre-LRDLT thrombopoietin and peripheral platelet counts were lower in group 1 than in group 2. Thrombopoietin in group 1 significantly increased on the first day after LRDLT and peripheral platelet counts in group 1 increased following the rise in thrombopoietin (p < 0.05). Moreover, a marked increase in thrombopoietin and peripheral platelet counts was found in splenectomized patients during LRDLT.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggested inadequate thrombopoietin production in advanced stage liver disease which caused thrombocytopenia. Improvement of thrombopoietin production in graft liver function may contribute to increase of peripheral platelet counts.
Tsukahara
Akihiro
A
First Department of Surgery, Niigata University School of Medicine, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Sato
Yoshinobu
Y
Yamamoto
Satoshi
S
Suzuki
Susumu
S
Nakatsuka
Hideki
H
Watanabe
Takaoki
T
Kameyama
Hitoshi
H
Hatakeyama
Katsuyoshi
K
D000328:Adult; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery*; D020159:Citrullinemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013156:Splenectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology*; D013926:Thrombopoietin / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors
D013926:Thrombopoietin