Differentiating Platelet Disorders and Blood Clotting Disorders

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Medical Video: Medical School - Coagulation Disorders

For most people, bleeding wounds can heal quickly with only simple treatment. However, this is not the case for people who have problems with the blood clotting process or platelet abnormalities. These two conditions are different, but both can cause blood to be difficult to clot, making it more often bleeding or longer. What is the difference between blood clotting disorders and platelet disorders?

First understand how the blood clotting process

The body has its own mechanism to heal bleeding wounds. The blood clotting process is called hemostasis. Platelets, or commonly called platelets, are one blood cell that plays an important role in helping blood clots occur.

When an open wound occurs, normally the blood vessels around the site will begin to narrow to reduce blood flow. This narrowing process will also allow the torn blood vessel cells to recover and "sew" back the tear. But just getting here can't stop the bleeding completely.

Only the role of platelets is needed for the next stage. The area of ​​damaged blood vessels will signal that platelets come and stick there. This attachment of platelets will activate the release of molecules Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) which is responsible for inviting more other platelets to stick and form plaques platelet.

The above reaction will then activate the thrombin enzyme to start the formation of fibrin braid. Fibrin is a blood clotting factor protein in the form of yarn fibers to help strengthen platelet plaque. Fibrin webbing is also responsible for clogging the damaged vessels to stop the blood from coming out.

After the damaged skin tissue and blood vessels have been repaired, the blood clotting process begins. During this blood clotting process, weaving of fibrin and platelet plaque will be destroyed because it is no longer needed.

The presence of certain diseases or conditions can cause platelet abnormalities or disorders of blood clots.

Then, what is the difference between platelet abnormalities and blood clotting disorders?

Both platelet abnormalities and blood clotting disorders can cause you to easily experience bleeding or bleeding wounds that are difficult to heal. The difference is what causes it and the symptoms that arise.

Causes of blood clotting disorders

Blood clotting disorders are conditions that interfere with the coagulation process, aka blood clots. Normally, blood will immediately begin to freeze after an injury occurs to prevent you from experiencing a lot of blood loss which can be fatal.

The blood clotting process can be disrupted if you don't have enough blood clotting factor. There are 13 factors for blood clotting. These include fibrinogen maker fibrin (Factor I) and prothrombin enzyme (Factor II). Loss of factor VIII or factor IX, for example, although rare can cause hemophilia. Most cases of coagulation disorders are genetic conditions inherited from parent to child.

However, some blood clotting disorders can be caused by certain medical conditions, such as liver disease. Because the blood clotting factor is formed by liver cells.

Blood clotting disorders can also be caused by:

  • Vitamin K deficiency
  • Side effects of certain drugs, such as anticoagulants (which do work to inhibit the blood clotting process).

Causes of platelet abnormalities

Meanwhile, it is different from platelet abnormalities. Platelet abnormalities can be caused by disorders of platelet counts or abnormal platelet function. Platelet abnormalities are not always caused by genetics.

Normal platelet counts are 150,000-450000 platelets per microliter of blood. If the disorder causes excessive platelet production, this condition is called thrombocytosis. Thrombocytosis causes the development of blood clots in the body's blood vessels. Thrombocytosis increases your risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), varicose veins, heart attacks, and strokes.

Contrary to thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is a platelet count abnormality of up to under 150,000 pieces per microliter of blood, even below 10 thousand. Very low platelet counts can cause internal bleeding which is fatal. This complication especially occurs in the brain and digestive tract.

Thrombocytopenia can occur due to a disruption in the bone marrow (place of blood cell production) or severe liver disease. Decrease in platelet count can also occur because the process of platelet destruction is rapidly increasing (can be caused by a condition of hypersplenism or dengue fever).

Different symptoms of both

In platelet disorders, the characteristic is a disruption in the production of platelet counts (can be more or less). In disorders of clotting factors, the platelet level is still normal. This can affect the different manifestations of both symptoms.

Platelet abnormalities are generally characterized by symptoms that easily bleed and bleeding that are difficult to stop. Platelet abnormalities also cause reddish spots on the skin called ptekie.

Although blood clotting disorders also cause easy bleeding, but the symptoms are slightly different from platelet abnormalities. Marked blood clotting factor abnormalities easily experience bruising and bruising, bleeding that is difficult to stop, or bleeding that can stop quickly, but then bleed again.

Different types of checks to formalize the diagnosis

Both platelet abnormalities and blood clotting disorders need to be examined through laboratory tests to get an official diagnosis. However, the types of tests needed are different.

On the problem of clotting factors, the doctor will check PT (Prothrombin Time) and aPTT (activated Partial Thromboplastin Time).The prolonged PT results show disturbances in extrinsic factors, while the prolonged aPTT shows interference with intrinsic factors. If both parameters are equally elongated, interference can occur on both lines.

Meanwhile, laboratory tests for the diagnosis of platelet abnormalities are to see whether the platelet count is in the normal range and checking the bleeding time (BT / Bleeding Time).

Differentiating Platelet Disorders and Blood Clotting Disorders
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