Abstract

Aim: Due to risk of severe bleeding of the organs and inveteracy acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a disease that still preserves importance. In our region, cases of ITP retrospectively reviewed in terms of clinical characteristics and responses to the treatment options.

Matarial and Methods: Acute and chronic cases, patients who are presenting symptoms over the age of two years and under two years of age were compared in terms of symptoms, examination findings and responses to the treatment options.

Results: A total of 151 patients (male n=78, female n=73) and mean age was 5.1±3.4 years were included. The ratios of acute and chronic patients’ were 75% and 25%, retrospectively. Chronicity rate was higher in patients more than two years age (p=0.01). The most frequently presenting symptom was skin lesions and 64.6% of patients with silent symptoms developed chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Seasonal factors and gender had no effect on acute and chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (p=0.119, p=0.061). The chronicity rate of patients who have partial remission at the end of the steroid treatment as a first-line treatment option was found (p=0.001). In acute ITP cases high rate of positive response was found to steroid therapy (p=0.04).

Conclusions: The clinical characteristics of the patients in our region are similar to other reported cases in our country. Economic and effective treatment selection to preventing morbidity and mortality due to disease in patients was thought to make a positive contribution of the disease prognosis.

Key Words: ITP; Childhood; Treatment.