Management of essential thrombocythemia during pregnancy with aspirin, interferon alpha-2a and no treatment. A comparative analysis of the literature.

It is advisable to treat essential thrombocythemia (ET) during pregnancy, because elevated platelet counts can lead to maternal and fetal complications. In order to establish which therapy is more favorable, we undertook a review of the literature. In addition to our own case, we found 27 reports which described 75 cases with 143 pregnancies. We discussed the complications of ET during pregnancy and postpartum, fetal outcome and the therapeutic strategies. Considering the clear risk of complications during pregnancy -- especially the occurrence of spontaneous abortion in the first trimester -- and the risk of intrauterine fetal death, we believe all patients should at least be treated with aspirin unless there is a contraindication. Platelet reduction with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) might be able to further reduce the complications of ET during pregnancy and to improve fetal outcome (data from 14 patients). After treatment with IFN-alpha, sufficient numbers of umbilical cord blood stem cells can be collected. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel