TITLE:
Prevalence and Prognostic Factors of Thrombocytopenia in Pediatric Oncology at CHUD-Ouémé from 2022 to 2024 (Benin)
AUTHORS:
Gilles Bognon, Yévèdo Tohodjede, Mohamed Ladjouan, Romaric Massi, Annabella Hountondji, Michée Assogba, Roméo Dah Bolinon
KEYWORDS:
Thrombocytopenia, Pediatric Oncology, Chemotherapy, Platelet Transfusion, CHUD-Ouémé
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.16 No.5,
September
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: thrombocytopenia is a common and serious hematologic complication in pediatric oncology, for which data remain limited in Benin. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and prognostic factors of thrombocytopenia in the pediatric oncology department at CHUD-O from 2022 to 2024. Methodology: this was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study with prospective data collection. It included all cases of thrombocytopenia (platelet count Results: the in-hospital prevalence was 21.0%. The mean age was 7.9 ± 4.8 years, and 36.8% of the children were between 6 and 12 years old; the sex ratio was 1.7. The main underlying cancers were acute leukemia (36.8%), lymphomas (23.5%), nephroblastoma (11.8%), and retinoblastoma (7.4%). Thrombocytopenia was severe in 45.6% of cases and asymptomatic in 55.9%. The main hemorrhagic signs were epistaxis (13.2%), gingival bleeding (13.2%), and hematemesis (8.8%). The two main causes were chemotherapy-induced bone marrow aplasia (50%) and bone marrow infiltration by malignant hematologic disorders (41.18%). The platelet concentrate availability rate of 28.9%. The case-fatality rate was 58.8%. Factors associated with death were the presence of hemorrhage (OR = 10.3 [3.3 - 32.1], p OR = 12.5 [1.4 - 110], p = 0.01), bone marrow involvement (OR = 4.1 [1.5 - 11.4], p = 0.006), the use of fresh frozen plasma (OR = 4 [1.4 - 11.4], p = 0.008), and iatrogenic bone marrow aplasia (OR = 0.3 [0.1 - 0.8], p = 0.01). Conclusion: thrombocytopenia is common in pediatric oncology at CHUD-Ouémé and is associated with a high mortality rate. Reducing this mortality rate will require taking the identified prognostic factors into account.