SCCM: circulating histones for most with thrombocytopenia

(HealthDay)—Most patients with thrombocytopenia have circulating histones, according to a research letter published online Feb. 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the Society of Critical Care Medicine's 45th Critical Care Congress, held from Feb 20 to 24 in Orlando, Fla.

Yasir Alhamdi, M.B.Ch.B., Ph.D., from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the correlation between circulating histones and thrombocytopenia in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients with thrombocytopenia (defined as a platelet count less than 150 × 10³/µL), a 25 percent or greater decrease in platelet count, or both within the first 96 hours of ICU admission, with no known prior cause of thrombocytopenia were matched to a control group of patients in the ICU without thrombocytopenia. Plasma histones were measured and daily levels were compared for patients with versus without thrombocytopenia (56 patients in each group).

The researchers found that circulating histones were detected in 91 and 55 percent of patients with versus without thrombocytopenia, respectively (P < 0.001). Patients with thrombocytopenia had significantly higher daily levels of histones throughout the study. Patients with thrombocytopenia with high admission histones versus low admission histones had significantly lower platelet counts at 24 and 48 hours after admission

"The novel associations reported in this study extend previous reports demonstrating profound thrombocytopenia following histone infusion into mice and suggest that, if confirmed, circulating histones may be valuable in predicting or monitoring thrombocytopenia in patients who are critically ill," the authors write.

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