Research Information System
NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, vol.24, no.1, pp.17-20, 2021 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Thrombocytopenia is defined as the platelet count of less than 150 x 109/L and is a prominent cause of bleeding. Aplastic anemia (AA), immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) are some of the reasons of low platelet counts. Aims: We aimed to interpret different laboratory and clinical findings in these different reasons of thrombocytopenia. Methods: Among patients with these disorders we assessed the performance of the ITP Bleeding Scale Assessment (ITP-BSA), which is principally designed for ITP patients. Results: A hundred patients were included in analysis. Median platelet count at presentation was similar in all three groups. Thrombosis was seen more common in patients with TTP (20.7%) than the others (ITP; 5.6%, AA; 2.9%). In patients with TTP, sepsis (41.4%) and neurological findings (89.7%) are also more common than in the patients with ITP or AA. Bleeding was determined in all patients with AA. However, 13 patients with ITP (%36.1) and 10 patients with TTP (%34.5) had no bleeding. The most common bleeding site was skin in all three groups. There was not any gastrointestinal, lung, genitourinary, and cranial bleeding in patients with ITP. Patients with AA obtained the highest scores from the ITP-BSA. There was a significant difference between AA and the other two groups. The scores were found similar in patients with ITP and TTP (P = 0.17). Conclusion: Clinical variations in thrombocytopenic patients may vary and assist to diagnose the cause of thrombocytopenia. The bleeding scoring systems might be helpful.