Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia - NAIT

  • Diagnosis
  • Screening
  • Monitoring
  • Background
  • Lab Tests
  • References
  • Related Topics

Indications for Testing

  • Fetal or neonatal testing when
    • Parents have had a prior affected pregnancy
    • Unexplained intracranial hemorrhage detected
    • Unexplained thrombocytopenia detected
  • Maternal and paternal testing when
    • Fetus or neonate is suspected to have neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) (also referred to as perinatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia [PAT])
  • Female patients
    • Planning a pregnancy who have a sister with a previously affected pregnancy
    • With post-transfusion purpura

Laboratory Testing

  • CBC with platelet count – testing for infant
    • NAIT does not cause thrombocytopenia in the mother 
    • Platelet count is often <50,000/μL
  • Testing and test interpretation in suspected NAIT should be performed by an experienced platelet immunology reference laboratory
    • A combination of test results are used to determine the likelihood of NAIT
    • Anti-platelet antibody – maternal sample preferred
      • Tests detect maternal antibodies to antigens commonly implicated in NAIT
        • HPA 1, 3, and 5 should be screened in all suspected cases
          • Include HPA 4 if the patient is of Asian descent
        • Identification of a maternal antibody is not diagnostic of NAIT – additional testing needed
        • Tests vary in the antibodies that can be detected
        • Antibodies directed against rare platelet antigens are not detected by most tests
        • Absence of a detectable maternal antibody does not exclude a diagnosis of NAIT
    • Platelet phenotyping or platelet antigen genotyping of mother and father
      • Detect maternal/paternal incompatibilities between HPA antigens
      • Genotyping allows for more accurate risk assessment and better pregnancy management
      • Fetal or neonatal platelet typing is not usually performed
      • For reference laboratories performing followup testing for NAIT, refer to the following

Imaging Studies

  • CT/MRI – mandatory for thrombocytopenic neonate

Differential Diagnosis of Thrombocytopenia in a Newborn (Strong, 2013)

  • Increased platelet consumption
    • Immune-mediated
      • Autoimmune (including maternal idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura)
      • Alloimmune
      • Drug-induced
    • Peripheral consumption
      • Hypersplenism
      • Kasabach-Merritt syndrome (giant hemangioma)
      • Disseminated intravascular coagulation
      • Necrotizing enterocolitis
      • Congenital heart disease
    • Miscellaneous
  • Decreased platelet production
    • Infiltrative disorders
    • Hereditary thrombocytopenia
      • TAR syndrome
      • Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
      • MYH9 macrothrombocytopenia syndromes
        • May-Hegglin anomaly
        • Sebastian syndrome
        • Fechtner syndrome
      • Amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia
      • Fanconi anemia
    • Congenital leukemia
    • Osteopetrosis
  • Mixed causes
  • Generalized screening is not recommended; however, several prospective studies involving >100,000 pregnancies suggest there may be a role for screening and intervention (Skogen, et al, 2010)
  • Routine monitoring for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) not recommended in pregnant population
  • Monitoring recommended in mother with previous infant with NAIT or ICH
    • Fetal blood sampling may be performed but is not recommended due to bleeding
    • Institution of intravenous immunoglobulin early in pregnancy (as early as 12 weeks, depending on when gestational date ICH was noted in previous neonate) may be warranted

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT), also referred to as perinatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (PAT) or fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, is the most common cause of severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count <50,000/µL) in the first few days of life of an otherwise healthy newborn. NAIT may lead to devastating consequences, including intracranial hemorrhage and death.

Epidemiology

  • Incidence – 1/2,000 pregnancies (Smock, 2014)
  • Age – affects fetus or neonate only; can occur as early as 18-20 weeks gestation
  • Sex – M:F, equal for infants

Inheritance

  • ~16 different types of human platelet antigens (HPA) have been identified
  • More common allele is designated “a” and the less common is “b”
  • HPA-1a is believed to cause ~80% of NAIT in Caucasians; HPA-5b causes 20% in Caucasians
  • HPA-1a-positive individuals have at least one copy of the “a” allele; HPA-1a-negative individuals are homozygous for the HPA-1b allele
    • 2% of women are homozygous for HPA-1b
      • These women are at risk for alloimmunization during pregnancy if their partner is homozygous HPA-1a or heterozygous HPA1- a/b and contributes the HPA-1a allele to the fetus

Risk Factors

  • Previous child with NAIT or family history of NAIT
    • 50% of cases occur during a first pregnancy

Pathophysiology

  • Human platelet antigens (HPA) are found on surface of platelet
    • Portion of population lacks this antigen
    • 24 platelet alloantigens, but only a small number are responsible for most NAIT
  • Maternal alloimmunization against fetal platelet antigens inherited from the father
    • Maternal IgG antibodies against fetal HPA can cross the placenta, causing fetal platelet destruction
      • Clinical correlation between antibody titers and NAIT occurrence is not reliable
    • Sometimes termed the platelet equivalent of Rh disease
    • At-risk women may be identified after having an affected pregnancy
      • 40-60% present in first pregnancy (unlike Rh alloimmunization)
  • Most commonly occurs in women lacking HPA-1a
    • 80-90% of cases occur in HPA-1a negative mothers
      • 2-5% of Caucasians lack HPA-1a 
    • HPA-1a and HPA-5b are the most commonly involved HPAs
    • HPA-1a incompatibility causes the most severe form of the disease
      • HPA-3a causes the next most severe form

Clinical Presentation

  • Otherwise healthy newborn with severe thrombocytopenia (<50,000/µL)
  • Widespread petechiae or purpura
  • Visceral hemorrhage – often gastrointestinal or bladder mucosa
  • Intracranial hemorrhage – may occur in utero, at birth, or antenatally
    • Risk is related to absolute platelet count
    • Fatal in 5-10% of affected neonates
    • Intellectual disability, seizures, cerebral palsy, or cortical blindness in up to 25% of survivors
  • Recurrence rate up to 90% in subsequent pregnancies
    • Severity may increase with subsequent pregnancies
Tests generally appear in the order most useful for common clinical situations. Click on number for test-specific information in the ARUP Laboratory Test Directory.

CBC with Platelet Count 0040002
Method: Automated Cell Count

Recommended Use 

Detect thrombocytopenia in neonate

Limitations 

Test neonate sample only; NAIT does not affect the mother

Platelet Antibodies, Indirect 0051050
Method: Semi-Quantitative Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

Recommended Use 

Not recommended for the diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)

Use to detect platelet-specific antibodies in suspected fetal or neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, posttransfusion purpura, or multiplatelet transfusion refractoriness

Platelet Antigen Genotyping Panel 0051308
Method: Polymerase Chain Reaction/Fluorescence Monitoring

Recommended Use 

Assess risk for NAIT; may be ordered for parental, fetal, or neonatal genotyping

Gene included – HPA genes (GP1BA, ITGA2B, ITGB3, ITGA2, ITGB3, and CD109)

​Antigens tested include a and b variants of HPA-1 through -6 and HPA-15

​Refer to Additional Technical Information document for further content

Clinical sensitivity/specificity – variable

Tests may be ordered individually or as a panel; test performed with whole blood, amniotic fluid, or cultured amniocytes

Limitations 

HPA genes and variants other than those tested are not determined

Bloody amniotic fluid specimens may give false-negative results due to maternal cell contamination

Diagnostic errors can occur due to rare sequence variations

General References

Curtis BR. Genotyping for human platelet alloantigen polymorphisms: applications in the diagnosis of alloimmune platelet disorders. Semin Thromb Hemost. 2008; 34(6): 539-48. PubMed

Gunnink SF, Vlug R, Fijnvandraat K, van der Bom JG, Stanworth SJ, Lopriore E. Neonatal thrombocytopenia: etiology, management and outcome. Expert Rev Hematol. 2014; 7(3): 387-95. PubMed

Heikal NM, Smock KJ. Laboratory testing for platelet antibodies. Am J Hematol. 2013; 88(9): 818-21. PubMed

Kamphuis MM, Paridaans N, Porcelijn L, De Haas M, Van Der Schoot CE, Brand A, Bonsel GJ, Oepkes D. Screening in pregnancy for fetal or neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: systematic review. BJOG. 2010; 117(11): 1335-43. PubMed

Kjeldsen-Kragh J, Killie MK, Tomter G, Golebiowska E, Randen I, Hauge R, Aune B, Oian P, Dahl LB, Pirhonen J, Lindeman R, Husby H, Haugen G, Grønn M, Skogen B, Husebekk A. A screening and intervention program aimed to reduce mortality and serious morbidity associated with severe neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. Blood. 2007; 110(3): 833-9. PubMed

Peterson JA, McFarland JG, Curtis BR, Aster RH. Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: pathogenesis, diagnosis and management. Br J Haematol. 2013; 161(1): 3-14. PubMed

Sachs UJ. Fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. Thromb Res. 2013; 131 Suppl 1: S42-6. PubMed

Skogen B, Killie MK, Kjeldsen-Kragh J, Ahlen MT, Tiller H, Stuge TB, Husebekk A. Reconsidering fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia with a focus on screening and prevention. Expert Rev Hematol. 2010; 3(5): 559-66. PubMed

Smock KJ, Perkins SL. Thrombocytopenia: an update. Int J Lab Hematol. 2014; 36(3): 269-78. PubMed

Strong NK, Eddleman KA. Diagnosis and management of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia in pregnancy. Clin Lab Med. 2013; 33(2): 311-25. PubMed

Symington A, Paes B. Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: harvesting the evidence to develop a clinical approach to management. Am J Perinatol. 2011; 28(2): 137-44. PubMed

References from the ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology®

Heikal NM, Smock KJ. Laboratory testing for platelet antibodies. Am J Hematol. 2013; 88(9): 818-21. PubMed

Medical Reviewers

Heikal, Nahla, MD, MS, Assistant Medical Director, Immunology and Hemostasis/Thrombosis at ARUP Laboratories; Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology, University of Utah

Mao, Rong, MD, Medical Director, Molecular Genetics and Genomics at ARUP Laboratories; Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Co-director, Clinical Medical Genetics Fellowship Program, University of Utah

Smock, Kristi J., MD, Medical Director, Hemostasis/Thrombosis at ARUP Laboratories; Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology, University of Utah

Last Update: August 2017