Chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura in childhood

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a bleeding disorder and is traditi onally divided in acute and chronic forms based on the duration of the dise ase. Chronic ITP is characterized by a persistence of thrombocytopenia for more than 6 months. Ten to 20% of children with ITP and almost all adults w ill develop the chronic condition. Pathophysiology of chronic ITP suggests an autoimmune process and a dysregulated immune response. There are no risk factors to predict the clinical course of ITP, Controlled clinical trials are needed to clarify many diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of chronic IT P, as recently stated by a panel of pediatric and adult hematologists on be half of The American Society of Hematology (ASH). In this article, we will focus on pathophysiological, diagnostic, and management aspects of chronic childhood ITP.