Giant Platelets in Treatment

[zrjl]

Has anyone had lab values that included GIANT PLATELETS?  My bloodwork is and always has been all over the place in my 11 weeks of treatment - but this is new.

[mikesimon]

MPV is a description of platelet size. MPV characterizes the average size of platelets - since the M does stand for mean. Clumping is where individual platelets clump or stick together. The giant platelet is sometimes seen in autoimmune disorders I believe. Platelet disorders can also be associated with thrombocytopenia. I assume that hemolytic anemia probably caused my giant platelet but I never verified that. I never saw anything like that after treatment nor did my platelets ever clump.
Mike

[IAmTheWalrus]

should have addressed that comment to you, Mike.

[IAmTheWalrus]

I don't remember the comments at the bottom, but my MCV and MPV were always flagged as "HIGH".  I was always more concerned about the absolute neutrophils which were often flagged as "ALERT".  Mine were on LabCorp tests.

Anyway, I understand that this is not at all unusual for someone on Ribavirin because of the accelerated destruction of red blood cells leaving a larger percentage of new cells that are typically larger than old ones. I guess they shrivel with age. :-)

Is there a difference between HIGH MPV and Giant Platelets? Is "clumping" a different thing altogether than high MPV (mean platelet volume)?

Brent

[mikesimon]

Mine read "rare giant platelet observed". I had forgotten the "rare" part. This was on a Quest Diagnostics lab report.
Mike

[IAmTheWalrus]

Don't know about platelets. It is reasonable to have large diameter red blood cells as a result of hemolytic anemia. Mine were always above normal during TX. You might see this as MCV or another measure (I forget the acronym) for red blood cell diameter. I never heard them described as giant, though.

Brent

[mikesimon]

I saw the same thing on one of my lab results - "giant platelet observed". I believe that it was treatment induced and that yours is too and is nothing to worry about. But, it does look weird when you see it on your labs.

There are people whose platelets clump. Labs have a special vial that they can use to insure that the platelets do not  clump. I had a lab tech tell me that "once a clumper always a clumper" but I think she was wrong - she definitely was in my case. I don't think she knew much about treatment induced changes in blood chemistry. I was a clumper all though treatment but when I stopped treatment I stopped clumping.

Mike

[zrjl]

Thanks.

[newleaf09]

Clumping happens if the sample is held too long before processing, gets too warm, etc.  It means that the count is innacurate (can't count a big glob that's made of clumped together platelets) and the sample is worthless, always aggravating.  Many of my sunmmertime platelet samples clumped because of long transport.

Speaking of giant blood cells, my red blood cells always came out 'macrocytic' (big celled) on the lab report when I was on procrit.  A hemotology lab freind told me that when red blood cells are 'born' they are quite large and a preponderance of large (macrocytic) red blood cells indicated the use of procrit, a substance that causes the bone marrow to produce a lot of new cells.  Not a bad thing, just something worth noting.  

[FlGuy]

Some people have lab results that might note 'clumped' platelets.  I know a couple of people here that have mentioned such reports.  I think a test do-over is in order.