title: Platelets in neonates: central mediators in haemostasis, antimicrobial defence and inflammation.
abstract: Platelets are not only centrally involved in haemostasis, but also in antimicrobial defence and inflammation. Since evaluation of platelet physiology in the particular patient group of preterm and term neonatal infants is highly restricted for ethical reasons, there are hardly any data available in healthy and much less in extremely immature or ill neonates. By summarising current knowledge and addressing both platelet researchers and neonatologists, we describe neonatal platelet count and morphology, report on previous analyses of neonatal platelet function in primary haemostasis and provide insights into recent advances in platelet immunology that considerably impacts our clinical view on the critically ill neonatal infant. We conclude that neonatal platelets, originating from liver megakaryocytes, substantially differ from adult platelets and may play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of neonatal sepsis or intraventricular haemorrhage, both complications which seriously augment perinatal morbidity and mortality.
authors.affiliation: Dr. med. Oliver Andres, University Children's Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straße 2, 97080 Würzburg, Germany, Tel.: +49 931 201 27728, Fax: +49 931 201 6027799, E-mail: andres_o@ukw.de.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Andres
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.forename: Christian P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Speer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D006487:Hemostasis; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood; D063847:Mean Platelet Volume; D010976:Platelet Count; D010979:Platelet Function Tests; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators
keywords: Platelet function; intraventricular haemorrhage; neonatal sepsis; platelet immunology; preterm infant