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Module HEME-23 · Version 1.0

True versus Spurious Thrombocytopenia

Confirm whether a low platelet count is analytically reliable before it is released or used for urgent communication. Use specimen evidence, analyzer clues, smear distribution, and validated alternate methods to separate clumping and other analytical causes from true thrombocytopenia.

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Who this module is for

Medical laboratory scientists and hematology personnel who review CBC platelet results and peripheral smears.

Learning objectives

  • Inspect specimen condition, analyzer flags and histogram, smear edges, and platelet morphology when a platelet count is low.
  • Recognize EDTA-associated clumping, platelet satellitism, giant-platelet undercounting, clots, fragments, and dilution as potential causes of an unreliable platelet result.
  • Select a validated repeat, alternate-anticoagulant, optical or fluorescence, or manual method and communicate only a reliable result under local procedure.

How completion works

Mark every required section done and answer every knowledge check in those sections correctly. The final save completes the module automatically.

Sources

10 sources

  1. 1. Baccini V, Geneviève F, Jacqmin H, et al. Platelet Counting: Ugly Traps and Good Advice. Proposals from the French-Speaking Cellular Hematology Group. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020;9:808. doi:10.3390/jcm9030808.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  2. 2. Lardinois B, Favresse J, Chatelain B, et al. Pseudothrombocytopenia: A Review on Causes, Occurrence and Clinical Implications. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2021;10:594. doi:10.3390/jcm10040594.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  3. 3. Zandecki M, Genevieve F, Gerard J, Godon A. Platelet satellitism. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. 2013;137:96-100.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  4. 4. Sysmex Corporation. Fluorescent Platelet Count Application, PLT-F. Manufacturer technical information.

    Source note · manufacturer labeling

  5. 5. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 42 CFR § 493.1253, Standard: Establishment and verification of performance specifications.

    Source note · federal regulation

  6. 6. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. H26-A2: Validation, Verification, and Quality Assurance of Automated Hematology Analyzers, 2nd ed. 2010, reaffirmed 2016.

    Source note · consensus standard

  7. 7. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. PRE04: Handling, Transport, Processing, and Storage of Blood Specimens for Routine Laboratory Examinations, 1st ed. 2023.

    Source note · consensus standard

  8. 8. International Society for Laboratory Hematology. Consensus Rules: Suggested Criteria for Action Following Automated CBC and WBC Differential Analysis.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  9. 9. International Council for Standardization in Haematology. 2021 update of the 2012 ICSH Recommendations for identification, diagnostic value, and quantitation of schistocytes.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  10. 10. MU Health Care Laboratory Test Catalog. Platelet Count. Laboratory catalog reference interval.

    Source note · laboratory reference