Hematology & Blood Disorders

Biography

Biography: Echonwere Beauty

Abstract

Introduction: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt with the aim of determining the changes in some haemostatic parameters in pregnancy and puerperium. Method: A total of four hundred (400) apparently healthy women of reproductive age, which consisted of 200 (40%) pregnant women and 200 (40%) puerperium mothers constituted the subjects in this case-controlled study. One hundred aged-matched non-pregnant women served as controls. The study was carried out between March, 2012 and January, 2014. The ages of the subjects ranged from 16 to 41 years (mean 27.4±4.3 years). Platelets count was carried out as described by Bain and Seed, PT and (PTTK) by Quick’s methods while modified Clauss method was used in the determination of fibrinogen concentration. Result: The pregnant women had significantly lower values of platelet count, 203.89±65.2×109/L (range, 78-416) as compared to 257.0±69.0×109/L, (range, 90-396×109/L,) for the non-pregnant controls and the 249.1±75.0×109/L, (range, 95-406×109/L) of the puerperium women (F=28.437; p<0.05). The prevalence of thrombocytopenia among the pregnant, puerperium mothers and non pregnant control women were 53 (26.5%), 15 (7.5%) and 12 (12.0%) respectively. The mean prothrombin time (PT) of the non-pregnant control women 15.48±2.49 seconds (range, 14-16 seconds) was significantly higher than the mean prothrombin time of the pregnant and the puerperium women 11.36±3.12 seconds (range, 10-16 seconds) and 14.28±4.22 seconds (range, 13-16 seconds) respectively (F=57.843; p<0.05). The International Normalized Ratio (INR) of the pregnant women as compared to the non-pregnant and puerperium women were not statistically significant (F=2.206; p>0.05). The mean partial thromboplastin time with Kaolin (PTTK) of the pregnant women, 44.1±7.2 seconds (range, 43.3-46.1 seconds) were significantly higher than the mean partial thromboplastin time with Kaolin (PTTK) of the non-pregnant women, 39.4±8.1 seconds (range, 38.4-44.3 seconds) and the puerperium women, 40.32±6.4 seconds (range, 41.3-43.3 seconds) (F=20.512; p<0.05). Conclusion: The mean fibrinogen concentration, 4.4±0.80 g/L (range, 2.9-5.1 g/L) of the pregnant women were significantly higher than the mean fibrinogen concentration, 3.6±0.88 g/L (range, 2.8-4.4 g/L) of the puerperium women and the non-pregnant control women, 2.6±0.72 g/L (range, 2.6-4.3 g/L) (F=164.877; p<0.05). The results point towards a hypercoagulable state in pregnant women, which is normal during pregnancy.