Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo has been diagnosed with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Sources told The Express Tribune that the premier will receive four doses of the IVIG treatment in the next three days. The platelet count will remain low until the therapy is completed. To stabilise the count, Nawaz will be given the mega unit of platelets if required.
A doctor, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that Nawaz’s bone marrow test was normal and the medical board was able to exclude other disorders based on the test result.
“IPF (immature platelet fraction), also called reticulated platelets, is used to check marrow’s ability to manufacture platelets. In his [Nawaz] case, there is thrombocytopenia (associated with High IPF of 33%). This is highly suggestive of acute ITP. All other cell lines are normal.”
Dr Tahir Shamsi said Nawaz was in recovery and his bleeding spots have started to improve.
The former prime minister was moved to Services Hospital in Lahore late Monday night after his health deteriorated. He was given a blood transfusion on Tuesday.
PTI govt, PML-N spar on Nawaz’s condition after ITP diagnosis
While the Punjab government insisted that the reason behind platelet drop was the use of a blood-thinning medication, medical doctors said aspirin was given to heart patients and could not cause such a huge drop. Nawaz's personal physician, Dr Adnan Malik, had said Nawaz’s platelet count fell due to “multiple pathologies”.
On Wednesday, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said the former premier's condition was better. “The provincial government has flown in Dr Tariq Shami of the National Institute of Blood Disease in Karachi who has the most appropriate expertise regarding Nawaz’s ailment. He examined Nawaz, saw his reports and conducted tests to check whether his bone marrow was working properly or not,” said the provincial health minister.
“If the test showed any signs of ill-functioning, we would have further gone for a PET scan and other relevant tests.”
On the other hand, PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal accused the PTI government of constantly spreading disinformation about Nawaz’s health and continuing its blunders regarding his treatment. “The platelets in Nawaz’s blood have dropped to a critical level of 6,000,” he said.
He pointed out that top doctors had expressed dissatisfaction over Nawaz’s medical condition but after the rejection of the courts to provide any relief, Nawaz was left at the mercy of the vengeful PTI regime.
My sincere prayers are with Nawaz Sharif, says PM
Acute Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
More commonly referred to as immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), it is a disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding.
According to Mayo Clinic, the bleeding results from unusually low levels of platelets — the cells that help blood clot. The symptoms include easy or excessive bruising, superficial bleeding into the skin that appears as pinpoint-sized reddish-purple spots (petechiae) that look like a rash - usually on the lower legs, bleeding from the gums or nose.
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy
According to Harvard Medical School, intravenous immunoglobulin is primarily used to treat other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) contains the pooled immunoglobulin G (IgG) immunoglobulins from the plasma of approximately a thousand or more blood donors, according to E-medicine.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ