Background: Thrombocytopenia (TP) has been shown to be an independent predictor of mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Studies are lacking in the neurological ICU (NICU) population. The aim was to evaluate the incidence of TP in NICU and the relationship between TP and outcomes.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicenter study of prospectively collected data of all patients admitted to the NICU between 2014 and 2015 from a large database (eICU Collaborative Research Database). The main exposure was TP at admission and TP developed during NICU stay. Multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the relationship of TP at admission and platelet course with hospital mortality. The primary outcome was hospital mortality.
Results: 7450 patients in NICU from 17 hospitals were included. Hospital mortality was 9%. TP at admission was present in 20% of patients, TP developed during NICU stay was present in 13.2% of patients. TP at admission was not associated with hospital mortality after adjusting for confounders (OR 1.14 [95% CI 0.92-1.41, p = 0.237]). Hospital mortality of continuous TP during NICU stay was 15% while hospital mortality of recovery from TP at admission was 6% (p < 0.001). Patients with TP developed during NICU stay had higher odds ratio for hospital mortality (OR 1.65 [95% CI 1.3-2.09, p < 0.001]).
Conclusions: Thrombocytopenia is common in NICU and patients who have thrombocytopenia not resolving have increased mortality. Patients' recovery from thrombocytopenia may predict a good prognosis.
Keywords: Mortality; Neurological ICU; Platelet count; Thrombocytopenia.