Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Definition:
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a bleeding disorder in which the immune system destroys platelets, which are necessary for normal blood clotting. Persons with the disease have too few platelets in the blood.ITP is sometimes called immune thrombocytopenic purpura or simply, immune thrombocytopenia.

Symptoms:
ITP symptoms can include any of the following:Abnormally heavy menstruation, Bleeding into the skin, often around the shins, causing a skin rash that looks like pinpoint red spots (petechial rash), Easy bruising, Nosebleed or bleeding in the mouth.

Treatment:
In children, the disease usually goes away without treatment. Some children may need treatment. Adults are usually started on an anti-inflammatory steroid medicine called prednisone. In some cases, surgery to remove the spleen (splenectomy) is recommended. This increases the platelet count in about half of patients. However, other drug treatments are usually recommended instead. If the disease does not get better with prednisone, other treatments may include:Medicine called danazol (Danocrine) taken by mouth, Infusions of high-dose gamma globulin (an immune factor), Drugs that suppress the immune system, Anti-RhD therapy for people with certain blood types, Drugs that stimulate the bone marrow to make more platelets. People with ITP should not take aspirin, ibuprofen, or warfarin, because these drugs interfere with platelet function or blood clotting, and bleeding may occur.

Statistics
The statistical analysis revealed an unexpected high occurrence of the following disorders within the patient group: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (23.5% within the patients compared to 0.7% within the general population, p<0.001), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (6.5% in patients to 0.025% in the general population, p<0.001), immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (6.3% in patients to 0.02% in the general population, p<0.001), psoriasis (9.4% in patients to 2.5% in the general population, p=0.005) and celiac disease (3.1% in patients to 0.2% in the general population, p=0.007).