What is the clinical significance of PLT platelet count?

The plt platelets that people often talk about actually refer to the platelet count. The so-called platelet count is the number of platelets contained in each unit of blood. Platelets play a very important role in human health. In addition to their coagulation function, they can also protect human capillaries. Therefore, people with platelet problems often suffer from diseases such as purpura. So what is the clinical significance of platelet count?

Clinical significance of plt platelet count:

Normal range

(100～300)×10^9/L

Inspection Introduction

Platelet count refers to the number of platelets contained in a unit volume of blood. Platelets are the smallest cells in the blood and protect the integrity of the capillaries.

Clinical significance

Platelet count helps in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of hemostatic and thrombotic diseases in clinical practice.

Increased: seen in essential thrombocythemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, polycythemia vera, acute massive bleeding, acute hemolysis, malignant tumors, infection, hypoxia, trauma, fractures, etc.

Decrease: Seen in the following cases:

Decreased platelet production (seen in acute leukemia and aplastic anemia, etc.)

Excessive platelet destruction (seen in diseases such as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and hypersplenism)

Increased platelet consumption (seen in disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, etc.).

Clinical significance

1. Physiological

The platelet count in a normal person may vary by 6%-10% in a day, being lower in the morning and slightly higher in the afternoon; lower in spring and slightly higher in winter; lower in plain residents and higher in plateaus; venous blood is 10% higher than capillary blood; lower before menstruation and higher after menstruation in women; higher in the middle and late stages of pregnancy and lower after delivery; higher after exercise and recovering during rest.

2. Pathological

(1) Reduce aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, thrombocytopenic purpura, hypersplenism, etc.

(2) Increased risk of myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute infection, acute blood loss, acute hemolysis, and after splenectomy.

Platelet (PLT for short) is a type of cell in the blood. It is called "platelet" because of its shape which is slightly concave on both sides, oval or disc-shaped. Platelets are the smallest type of blood cells, much smaller than red blood cells and white blood cells, with an average diameter of only 2 to 4 microns. It is formed by fragments shed from the cytoplasm of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. When a blood vessel is damaged due to injury or other reasons, a large number of platelets will immediately gather at the damaged site, clumping into a blood clot that blocks the blood vessel opening. In addition, platelets also release substances that cause blood vessels to contract and blood to coagulate, preventing blood from flowing out of the damaged site. The platelet count refers to the number of platelets contained in a unit volume of blood. The number of platelets in a normal person's blood remains at a certain level. Certain medical conditions can cause a decrease or increase in the number of platelets. Platelet count helps in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of hemostatic and thrombotic diseases in clinical practice.