Empeiria

Low platelet count

Clinically: Thrombocytopenia · also low platelets, low platelet count, platelets too low, not enough platelets

hematologic MONDO MONDO:0002049 unverified
This describes what this condition typically looks like. It is not a diagnosis and cannot tell you whether you have it -- patterns overlap, results vary between labs, and the same numbers mean different things in different people. Diagnosis usually rests on Platelet count, interpreted alongside symptoms and history rather than read off a report.

unverified These explanations are written to be easy to read and have not yet been checked against a source. The ranges and measurement notes on this page show theirs.

definition unverified

Your blood has fewer platelets than normal. Platelets help your blood clot, so with too few you may bleed or bruise more easily.

A platelet count below the normal range. NHLBI gives the adult normal range as 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microlitre, and a count below 150,000 as lower than normal; some clinicians use a cutoff of 100 × 10^9/L instead.

caveats unverified

Mild low platelets often cause no symptoms and are found on a routine blood test. Serious bleeding usually happens only when the count is very low. Many things can cause it, so the cause matters more than the number alone.

Mild low platelets often cause no symptoms and are found on a routine blood test. Serious bleeding usually happens only when the count is very low. Many things can cause it, so the cause matters more than the number alone.

No clinical version written yet.

The typical lab pattern

What the diagnosis rests on

The results a diagnosis is actually made on.

Platelet count low — Thrombocytopenia is defined by the platelet count: below 150,000 per microlitre is lower than normal (NHLBI). Some clinicians use 100 × 10^9/L as the cutoff instead.

How it usually feels

Frequencies say how often a symptom accompanies this condition — not the other way round. Most people with any of these symptoms do not have this.