The following is a summary of “Utility of indium-111 platelet scintigraphy for understanding the mechanism of thrombocytopenia associated with myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia,” published in the May 2023 issue of Hematology by Durand et al.
Around 60% of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) experience thrombocytopenia, raising the risk of severe bleeding in this predominantly elderly population with underlying health conditions. Limited information is available regarding secondary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) associated with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
In this study, researchers aimed to analyze the effectiveness of indium-111 platelet scintigraphy (IPS) to know the mechanism of thrombocytopenia in 21 adult patients with MDS. Investigators included adult patients diagnosed with MDS according to international criteria who underwent IPS due to elevated bleeding risk between 2009 and 2018. They conducted autologous 111Indium platelet labeling using a standardized method similar to previously described techniques.
Reported patients with a platelet lifespan of ≤ 6 days were found to have peripheral platelet destruction, and they considered the response to ITP-directed therapies following IPS, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of IPS were 100%, 84.6%, 80%, and 100%, respectively.
Study concluded that IPS could be a valuable tool in determining the underlying mechanism and informing the treatment approach for chronic thrombocytopenia that heightens the risk of bleeding in patients with MDS.
Source: ehoonline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40164-023-00414-1
