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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffIdiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), also called immune thrombocytopenic purpura, is a blood-clotting disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. ITP results from unusually low levels of platelets — the cells that help your blood clot.
Idiopathic 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 and platelet count. 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.
- ITP: Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/blood/113.html. Accessed July 31, 2008.
- What is idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Itp/ITP_WhatIs.html. Accessed July 31, 2008.
- George JN. Treatment and prognosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 31, 2008.
- Rodeghiero F. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura: An old disease revisited in the era of evidence-based medicine. Haematologica. 2003; 88(10):1081-1087.
- Stasi R, et al. Management of immune thrombocytopenic purpura in adults. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2004;79(4):504-522. http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/pdf%2F7904%2F7904r.pdf.
- Bussel JB, et al. Eltrombopag for the treatment of chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;357(22):2237-2247. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/357/22/2237. Accessed July 31, 2008.
- Rodeghiero F. First-line therapies for immune thrombocytopenic purpura: Re-evaluating the need to treat. European Journal of Haematology. 2008; 80(69)(suppl):19-26.
- Newland A. Emerging strategies to treat chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. European Journal of Haematology. 2008;80(69)(suppl):27-33.
