Margaret’s routine test reveals an emergency

63-year-old Margaret had always been healthy, but lately she’d been feeling unusually tired and weak. Her energy levels weren’t what they used to be, though she attributed it to getting older and the stress of managing her psoriasis.

During a routine check-up, her doctor recommended follow-up blood work to investigate her fatigue. When Margaret received the results, she noticed her platelet count was elevated. She scheduled an appointment with her doctor, but the earliest available slot was in three days.

Margaret wasn’t sure if this was something that could wait or if she needed more immediate attention. She decided to get her results interpreted to understand what her elevated platelets might mean.

In the indicated morphology, >1 million platelets were observed, which may indicate the presence of a hematologic disorder – essential thrombocytosis. This condition can remain asymptomatic for a long time, often being detected incidentally in morphology performed for other reasons.

However, over time, symptoms such as transient visual disturbances, sensory disturbances, and numbness of limbs may appear, indicating life-threatening thrombotic complications requiring immediate medical assistance.