Case Of NAIT Causing Severe Thrombocytopenia due to Anti-HLA Class I

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) is the leading cause of thrombocytopenia in otherwise healthy new-born. (1,2) Maternal antibodies raised against paternally inherited alloantigen carried on fetal platelet causing NAIT. Maternal IgG antibodies passed through to the fetal via the placenta, attack and cause the destruction of the fetal platelet. (3) We present a case of NAIT without any complications in a premature baby (35 weeks) with VACREL association, G6PD deficiency, left calcified cephalohaematoma, cardiomegaly and hypospadias with severe thrombocytopenia (platelet counts is 23 109/L) at day two of life and received twice platelet transfusion. Platelet count initially 123 109/L at birth but significantly drop and persistently less than 50 109/L until day 10 of life before it normalized. Maternal serum antibody screening was negative, but platelet immunology test detected maternal platelet-reactive antibody Anti-HLA Class I and correlates with incompatible parental crossmatch indicating that parent had “platelet-antigen incompatibility”. The goal of obstetric management is to identify pregnancies at risk and prevent intracranial haemorrhage. (4) There is no evidence to support routine screening for pregnancies as per current practice. (2, 5) The latest treatments include maternal administration of intravenous immunoglobulin to suppress maternal antibody production and or to reduce placental transfer of antibodies; with or without steroids during antepartum period besides planning of mode, timing and method of delivery. (2, 5, 6, 7) This is a rare and unique case of NAIT secondary to Anti-HLA Class I antibody and hence clinician should be au fait with the diagnosis and management as it is infrequent among Malaysian.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue-2: 2021 Page: S21

Post-transfusion purpura due to anti HPA–1a antibodies – a retrospective case report

Post-transfusion purpura is a life-threatening adverse reaction associated with a reduction in platelet counts below 10 x 109/L and bleeding. It usually occurs in women who, due to their pregnancies, have developed antibodies directed against human platelet antigen (HPA), most often anti-HPA 1a. The case described by us concerned an 83-year-old woman who received two units of red blood cells (RBC) due to severe secondary anemia. Seven days after the transfusion, she developed skin symptoms of thrombocytopenic diathesis, gastrointestinal bleeding, and a reduced number of platelets (3 x 109/L), and the patient’s serum (genotype HPA-1b/1b) was positive for anti-platelet antibodies with HPA-1a specificity and directed against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II antibodies, unresponsive to the lymphocytotoxic test. Prompt diagnosis by our transfusion medicine consultant and the initiation of treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins certainly shortened the duration of thrombocytopenia and bleeding, and possibly also saved the patient’s life.

Genotyping of Eight Human Platelet Antigen Systems in Serbian Blood Donors: Foundation for Platelet Apheresis Registry

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the allele and genotype frequencies of 8 human platelet antigen (HPA) systems among blood donors from the Blood Transfusion Institute of Serbia and to compare them with published studies. These data would be useful to establish the basis for a platelet apheresis donor registry. Material and Methods: Seventy-two unrelated male platelet apheresis/blood donors from Serbia were typed for 8 HPA systems (HPA-1 to HPA-6, HPA-9, and HPA-15) via the FluoGene method, based on polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific amplification (PCR-SSP; PCR using sequence-specific primers) with fluorometric signal detection. Allele and genotype frequencies were estimated by direct counting and compared to the expected genotype frequencies according to the Hardy-Weinberg principle. The transfusion mismatch probability was calculated for every HPA specificity. Results: The allele frequencies were: HPA-1a, 0.868; HPA-1b, 0.132; HPA-2a, 0.917; HPA-2b, 0.083; HPA-3a, 0.611; HPA-3b, 0.389; HPA-5a, 0.903; HPA-5b, 0.097; HPA-9a, 0.993; HPA-9b, 0.007; HPA-15a, 0.472; and HPA-15b, 0.528. For HPA-4 and HPA-6 only allele a was detected. Discussion: The HPA allele frequencies of European populations showed no significant differences in comparison with our results. Statistically significant differences were revealed in comparison with some populations of non-European origin. In the tested donors no HPA-2 bb genotype was detected, but we found 1 donor with the rare HPA-9b allele. The biggest transfusion mismatch probability in the Serbian population is for systems HPA-15 (37.4%) and HPA-3 (36.2%), which means that more than a third of random transfusions could cause mismatch in these systems. This study was enabled by the introduction of molecular HPA typing, and it provides initial results of the HPA allele and genotype frequencies in the population of blood donors in Serbia. They will be used to provide a compatible blood supply on demand for treating patients with alloimmune thrombocytopenic disorders. The successful implementation of PCR-SSP with fluorometric signal detection could be further complemented in the future by the introduction of high-throughput methods, which will largely depend on the available financial resources.