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ITP Education Kit

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Symptoms

The main symptoms of ITP are bruising and bleeding, which can include:1

  • Spontaneous bruising (purpura): purplish areas on skin or mucous membranes
  • Petechiae: pinpoint red spots on the skin (typically the legs) that often occur in groups and may look like a rash
  • Bleeding that is hard to stop
  • Bleeding from gums
  • Nosebleeds
  • Heavy menstrual bleeding in women (menorrhagia)
  • Blood in the urine
  • Blood in the stool

Bleeding into the brain, a complication of ITP, is rare, but can be life threatening if it occurs. The risk of intracranial bleeding is greatest in:

  • the elderly
  • patients with a history of bleeding
  • patients who don’t respond to therapy
  • patients with platelet counts that fall below 10,000/mm3 to 20,000/mm3. 2

Diagnosis 

Your doctor may examine you for signs of ITP, ask you about your symptoms, and order laboratory tests. Classic ITP symptoms include bruising and bleeding, often seen with a platelet count of 30,000/mm3 to 50,000/mm3 (normal range 150,000/mm3 – 450,000/mm3 ). 3

Careful examination, along with appropriate tests, may help your doctor exclude other possible causes of low platelet count, including taking certain medications or the presence of other diseases. 4

Always seek the advice of your own physician or other qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical conditions.

  1. National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura? Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Itp/ITP_
    SignsAndSymptoms.html    . Accessed September 14, 2007.
  2. Cines, D., Bussel, J. How to Treat ITP, Blood. 2005; 7(106): 2244-2251.
  3. Cines D.B., Blanchette V.S. Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002; 346(13): 995-1008.
  4. Hematologic Diseases Information Service, A Service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH, How is ITP Diagnosed? Available at http://www.hematologic.niddk.nih.gov/info/index.htm. Accessed June 25, 2007.