Ivan Krecak, MD, PhD, Discusses the Link Between Plateletcrit, Thrombotic Risk in Polycythemia Vera

Ivan Krecak, MD, PhD, of the General Hospital of Sibenik-Knin County in Croatia, speaks about his research on polycythemia vera (PV) during the 2023 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress.

Dr. Krecak and colleagues presented their findings on the association of plateletcrit with thrombotic risk in patients with PV during the 2023 EHA Congress.

“At baseline, the higher plateletcrit correlated with older age, and with a history of thrombosis,” he said. “These are all high-risk features in PV patients. More importantly, high plateletcrit correlated with more frequent thrombotic events and deaths during the follow up.”

This was “even more pronounced” in patients who had higher leukocyte counts and higher hematocrit, which suggests these “complex interactions between different blood cell count components are crucial for promotion of thrombosis in PV patients,” Dr. Krecak said.

He spoke about the implications of the results and what he sees as the next steps with the line of research.

“Even though this is a preliminary study, which should be confirmed in other studies, we would like to explore whether serial measurements of this plateletcrit may be used to tailor treatments in PV patients, similarly to hematocrit levels,” Dr. Krecak said.

It will also be key to determine “whether maintaining the plateletcrit below some levels can be used to improve patient outcomes in PV,” he said.