Childhood Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Experience at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh

Abstract

Forty-nine children (30 boys and 19 girls) with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) seen at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) Riyadh, during a 7-1/2 year period were retrospectively reviewed with regard to their clinical characteristics, management, and outcome. The age of onset of the disease ranged from 8 months to 11 years with a mean of 4.26 years. Twenty-seven cases presented as acute ITP while 22 cases presented as chronic ITP. The clinicopathological features and response to treatment of the cases were essentially similar to findings in other parts of the world. In a search for a predictor of chronic disease, the platelet counts at four weeks and three months after diagnosis were found to be a significant factor for prediction of chronicity of ITP. If the platelet counts are less than 100x10(9)/L during these periods, the risk of chronic ITP is increased and vice versa. There was, however, no correlation in our patients between duration of symptoms prior to presentation and outcome of the disease as has been reported by investigators in Europe and Australia.