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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffIdiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. The bleeding results from unusually low levels of platelets — the cells that help your blood clot.
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, which is also called immune thrombocytopenic purpura, affects both children and adults. Children often develop idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura after a viral infection and usually recover fully without treatment. In adults, however, the disorder is often chronic.
Treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura depends on your symptoms, your platelet count and your age. If you don't have signs of bleeding and your platelet count isn't too low, treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura usually isn't necessary. More serious cases may be treated with medications or, in critical situations, with surgery.
- What is idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/itp/printall-index.html. Accessed Feb. 25, 2013.
- Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed Feb. 25, 2013.
- Tintinalli JE, et al. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=40. Accessed Feb. 25, 2013.
- Stone CK, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Emergency Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=718. Accessed Feb. 25, 2013.
- Guide to understanding ITP (immune thrombocytopenia). ITP Foundation. http://www.itpfoundation.org/itpdefined.htm. Accessed Feb. 25, 2013.
- Arnold DM. Positioning new treatments in the management of immune thrombocytopenia. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2013;60:S19.
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/hematology_and_oncology/thrombocytopenia_and_platelet_dysfunction/immune_thrombocytopenic_purpura_itp.html. Accessed Feb. 25, 2013.
- Bussel JB. Traditional and new approaches to the management of immune thrombocytopenia: Issues of when and who to treat. Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America. 2009;23:1329.
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