title: Acute and chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Disorders that differ in more than duration.
abstract: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura is a relatively common disease that occurs in both pediatric and adult populations. The acute form predominates in children and the chronic form is seen much more often in adults. The diagnosis is one of exclusion but often can be made on the basis of thorough history taking and physical examination and a limited number of laboratory studies. More intensive diagnostic studies, including bone marrow examination, may be needed to rule out other causes of thrombocytopenia. For patients in whom spontaneous remission does not occur, effective treatments are available, and morbidity and mortality rates are quite low.
authors.affiliation: Lancaster General Hospital, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kirchner
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D016913:Blood Component Transfusion; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D013156:Splenectomy
chemical_list: D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D011241:Prednisone