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Occult Hemorrhage in Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Does it predict subsequent bleeding?

Publish date:: February 17, 2016

Occult hemorrhage occurs with greater frequency than overt bleeding in children with severe idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), according to a study of 52 patients with ITP, aged ≤ 18 years, and a mean platelet count of 4,000/mm³. Researchers found:

A significant occurrence of occult hemorrhage was seen in the urine (27%) vs clinically overt hematuria (0.91%).

CNS microbleeding in the superficial cortex of the left frontal lobe was seen in 1 child with occult bleeding in the urinary tract.

There was no relationship between occult hemorrhage and bleeding manifestations on physical examination.

Occult hemorrhage was not a harbinger of subsequent bleeding.

Citation: Flores A, Buchanan GR. Occult hemorrhage in children with severe ITP. [Published online ahead of print February 9, 2016]. Am J Hematol. doi: 10.1002/ajh.24264.

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