Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Nov 30;15(11):e49736.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.49736. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Navigating the Storm: Managing Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) in a High-Risk Pregnancy

Ekaterina Proskuriakova  1 , Shikha Upreti  2 , Joshua Wortsman  1 , Bashar Alkhaurri  1 , Jacob Rosendale  3 , Mohammed Kassem  4 , Pam Khosla  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Navigating the Storm: Managing Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) in a High-Risk Pregnancy

Ekaterina Proskuriakova et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a rare, life-threatening condition causing significant thrombocytopenia and bleeding with the risk of developing intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). It results from maternal immunizations against fetal platelet antigens. Here, we report a case of a pregnant patient at 30 weeks gestation who presented to the hospital with a low platelet count of 90 th/mm3 and was found to have anti-human platelet antigen (HPA) 1a, 2b antibodies. She was treated with a weekly infusion of IV immunoglobulins. However, her condition was complicated by the development of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome, which was treated promptly with a platelet transfusion and intravenous magnesium. Even though the child had severe thrombocytopenia and its associated complications, there were no signs of post-delivery thrombocytopenia or any other adverse effects. This case report highlights the importance of the antenatal management of the FNAIT to prevent severe fetal complications, such as ICH.

Keywords: case report; maternal alloimmunization; neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia; pregnancy; thrombocytopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The trend of the platelets
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Epidemiology and management of fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. de Vos TW, Winkelhorst D, de Haas M, Lopriore E, Oepkes D. Transfus Apher Sci. 2020;59:102704. - PubMed
    1. Fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: pathogenesis, diagnostics and prevention. Brojer E, Husebekk A, Dębska M, et al. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz) 2016;64:279–290. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: pathogenesis, diagnosis and management. Peterson JA, McFarland JG, Curtis BR, Aster RH. Br J Haematol. 2013;161:3–14. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: current pathophysiological insights and perspectives for future diagnostics and treatment. Stam W, Wachholz GE, de Pereda JM, Kapur R, van der Schoot E, Margadant C. Blood Rev. 2023;59:101038. - PubMed
    1. Suppression of in vitro megakaryopoiesis by maternal sera containing anti-HPA-1a antibodies. Liu ZJ, Bussel JB, Lakkaraja M, et al. Blood. 2015;126:1234–1236. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources