FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 350:1211-1219 March 18, 2004 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text Purchase this article Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

Thrombocytosis is typically discovered as an incidental laboratory abnormality when the complete blood count is obtained for some unrelated reason. When found, however, it creates an important diagnostic challenge. Thrombocytosis generally either is a reactive process (secondary thrombocytosis) or is caused by a clonal bone marrow (myeloproliferative) disorder; the latter category includes essential thrombocythemia. It is often exceedingly difficult to differentiate between the reactive and clonal types of thrombocytosis on the basis of clinical findings or laboratory test results. Yet there are fundamental differences between them in terms of cause, pathophysiological features, and clinical implications.

Mechanisms of Thrombocytosis

Thrombopoietin is the key hormone . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Major Causes of Thrombocytosis

Reactive (Secondary) Thrombocytosis

Familial Thrombocytosis

Clonal Thrombocytosis

            Clonality

            Clinical Complications

            Natural History

Differential Diagnosis

Treatment Considerations

Conclusions

Source Information

From the Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Schafer at the University of Pennyslvania Health System, 100 Centrex, 3400 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, or at andrew.schafer@uphs.upenn.edu.

Related Letters:

Thrombocytosis
Cheung M. C., Hicks L. K., Pendergrast J., Schafer A. I.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2004; 350:2524-2525, Jun 10, 2004. Correspondence

HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org Comments and questions? Please contact us. The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.