Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in children: a 10 years experience at tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate presenting features, treatment modalities and response to therapy in children with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. METHODS The retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised clinical data, presenting demographics, clinical spectrum, management and outcome of children admitted with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura from 2001 to 2010. SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Records of 95 children between 0-15 years in the period 2001 to 2010 were reviewed. The overall mean age at the time of presentation was 6.1±3.8 years. There were 45(47.3%) male and 50(52.7%) female cases. A total of 34(35.8%) patients had history of preceding illness. Regarding clinical presentations, bruises 81(85.3%), petechial rash 75(79%), epistaxis 23(24%) were common. Median platelet count at the time of presentation was 5,000 (Inter-quartile range: 4000-13,000). Spontaneous recovery was seen in 7(7.4%) children. Overall, 24(25.2%) patients received intravenous immunoglobulin G and only 19(20%) showed complete response. Besides, a total of 32(33.7%) patients did not respond and only 5(5.3%) developed chronic ailment. CONCLUSION Bruises, petechial rash and epistaxis were the common presentations. Overall prognosis was good.