Antibody studies in a patient with acute thrombocytopenia following infusion of plasma containing anti-PIA1

✍ Scribed by Brunner-Bolliger, S.; Kiefel, V.; Horber, F. F.; Nydegger, U. E.; Berchtold, P.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 26 KB
• Volume: 56
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0361-8609
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8652(199710)56:2<119::aid-ajh8>3.0.co;2-1

✦ Synopsis

Immune thrombocytopenia due to passive transfer of anti-PI A1 alloantibody has been noted as a rare but potentially dangerous complication of plasma transfusions. We report a patient with a preoperative platelet count of 241 × 10 9 /l who developed severe thrombocytopenia within 2 hr following transfusion of 2 U of fresh frozen plasma. The plasma donor was found to be a PI A1 -negative woman. The platelet count of the PI A1 -positive patient recovered within 7 days to normal values. In the frozen plasma, excessive antibody binding to GPIIb-IIIa on the recipient's platelets was detected. The antibody was shown to have anti-PI A1 -specificity. Only 40 min after transfusion of the frozen plasma, no antibody was detected in the plasma of the recipient. This case suggests that passively administered anti-PI A1 alloantibody is immediately adsorbed onto the recipient's platelets and thus removed from circulation. Am.