Background: Thrombocytopenia is one of the commonly encountered haematological abnormalities in neonates admitted in NICU. Various factors such as ARDS, neonatal sepsis, meconium aspiration syndrome, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, prematurity, low birth weight and necrotising enterocolitis are associated with thrombocytopenia. Monitoring thrombocytopenia in respect to onset and severity is an important predictor for neonatal morbidity and mortality. Material & method: Blood samples of total 185 neonates admitted in NICU during the period of four months (November 2018 to February 2019) were evaluated; out of these, total 45 cases were diagnosed with low platelet count (count < 1.5L/ cumm). These 45 cases were evaluated for onset of development of thrombocytopenia and categorised in early onset (< 72 hrs of birth) and late onset (> 72 hrs of birth). These neonates also observed for severity of thrombocytopenia. Observation: Overall incidence of thrombocytopenia in present study is 41.1%. Most common etiological factor associated was neonatal sepsis followed by ARDS, meconium aspiration syndrome, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, prematurity, low birth weight and necrotising enterocolitis. Most of the cases were presented with late onset and leading cause of thrombocytopenia among this group was neonatal sepsis in association with other factors like ARDS, meconium aspiration. All the cases of neonatal sepsis were found to have severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 50,000/cumm). Conclusion: Neonatal thrombocytopenia is very common haematological finding. It can also be considered as an important sensitive marker for neonatal morbidity specifically in case of thrombocytopenia associated with neonatal sepsis as it manifested before the culture results.

Keywords: Neonatal thrombocytopenia; ARDS; Neonatal sepsis.