What Does It Mean When...

When there is bleeding, platelets aggregate to form a plug & seal off the injury -- this stops the bleeding. With a reduced platelet count, a pt cannot clot blood -- this means that any type of bleed will continue, leading to a loss of red blood cells (thus less oxygen delivered to the tissues) & can progress all the way to hypovolemic shock & death.

By the way, reasons for decreased platelet production:

ETOH abuse, bone marrow irradiation, bone marrow/stem cell disease, graft vs. host disease, aplastic anemia, vit B deficiencies, metastatic carcinoma, renal disease, leukemia, or other diseases.

Thrombocytopenia (ie. decreased platelets) can be caused by 1) decreased platelet production (causes listed above), 2) increased platelet destruction (ex. lupus, HELLP syndrome, HIT, DIC), 3) hemodilution (ie. too much IV fluid infused), or 4) platelet sequestration (ex. hypersmemberm).

*** Source: manual of critical care nursing, 4th ed., mosby