Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and pregnancy. Maternal platelet count and antiplatelet antibodies do not predict the risk of neonatal thrombocytopenia.

The aim of this study was to try to better characterize, on the basis of maternal platelet count and antiplatelet antibodies, women with ITP or a history thereof at risk of being delivered of a child affected by neonatal thrombocytopenia. Results show that either clinical classification or maternal platelet count were not effective in predicting the occurrence of neonatal thrombocytopenia. Effects of prednisone on platelet-bound and unbound antibodies were studied prospectively in 12 non-pregnant women with ITP; no increase of these parameters was observed after treatment. Thus, the risk of corticosteroid therapy in the management of pregnant ITP patients remains hypothetical and unproven.