An aetiological profile of febrile thrombocytopenia in children

Objective: To establish the possible aetiology of febrile children presenting with thrombocytopenia. Method: In this observational study, all children, aged 1 month to 18 years, admitted to paediatric wards of the ESIC Medical College & Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Bengalaru, India, from October 2012 to September 2013, with fever and thrombocytopenia, were included. A thorough history was obtained and a general and systemic examination done. Routine investigations were done in all cases and specific investigations as and when required.   Results: Of 1551 children admitted with febrile illness during the study period, 306 with thrombocytopenia fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Thirty five percent of children had mild thrombocytopenia. The commonest cause of thrombocytopenia was dengue fever (83%). The mortality was low (0.7%) and was seen only in dengue fever in our study.  Conclusions: The commonest cause of febrile thrombocytopenia in this study was dengue fever, accounting for 83% of cases. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health , 2018; 47 (2): 146-148