Early prediction of platelet recovery with immature platelet fraction in patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is pivotal in treating hematologic disorders, yet it poses the risk of post-transplantation pancytopenia. Prophylactic platelet transfusions are often administered to mitigate this risk. Utilizing practical markers, such as immature platelet fraction (IPF), to predict hematopoietic recovery in advance could reduce unnecessary prophylactic transfusions. Our prospective study, involving 53 HSCT patients at Taipei Veterans General Hospital between September 2022 and May 2023, utilized the Sysmex XN analyzer to assess peripheral blood cell parameters. We investigated whether IPF could predict platelet recovery early, determined the optimal cut-off value, and compared platelet usage. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment occurred 10 (median; range: 10–12) and 15 (median; range: 15–18) days post-HSCT. Notably, 71.7% of patients exhibited an IPF increase exceeding 2% before platelet recovery. The optimal cut-off IPF on day 10 for predicting platelet recovery within five days was 2.15% (specificity 0.89, sensitivity 0.65). On average, patients received 3.89 units of post-transplantation platelet transfusion. Our results indicate that IPF serves as a predictive marker for platelet engraftment, peaking before the increase in platelet count. This insight aids clinicians in assessing the need for prophylactic platelet transfusions. Integrating reference IPF values alongside platelet counts enhances the accuracy of evaluating a patient’s hematopoietic recovery status. Anticipating the timing of platelet recovery optimizes blood product usage and mitigates transfusion reaction risks.