How is Essential Thrombocythemia Diagnosed?
Essential thrombocythemia is often identified completely accidentally in symptom-free patients when a routine blood test shows a higher than normal platelet count. A mildly enlarged spleen could also be easily found. The platelet count is a standard medical blood test, and the normal values range from about 175,000 to 350,000 platelets per microliter of blood. It is important to know that essential thrombocythemia is a consideration if: * The platelet count is above 600,000/ml of blood * There is no other evident cause for an elevated platelet count. Unfortunately, there are no specific tests that can be used to establish the diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia. Some routine tests that will probably be used are a chest X-ray, an ultrasound or other scan of the abdomen, and a bone marrow test. The bone marrow test involves taking both a liquid and a small pencil-lead like sample under a local anesthetic from the bones at the back of the pelvis.
