Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Immune thrombocytopenic purpura is the most common cause of sudden onset of thrombocytopenia in a healthy child. The object of the present study was to determine the demographic and clinical features, underlying factors which predict chronicity of disease, and quality status of bone marrow megakaryocytes of children with ITP .

 Materials and Methods

 We conducted a 5-year retrospective study on children with a diagnosis of ITP in Mofid Children Hospital from 2003 to 2008. Data were analysed by using SPSS software.

 Results

 Forty seven point one and 52.9% of 153 patients with ITP were female and male, respectively. The mean age was 4.42 ± 3.9 years (age range within 0.08-15 yrs). Among the patients, 70.8% had acute ITP and 29.2% chronic ITP. Distribution rates of petechiae and purpura over the patients' body were 54.9%, 32.7%, and 89.5% in head and neck, in trunk, and on extremities, respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between age and epistaxis. In our study, 41.8% of patients had history of viral infection three weeks prior to presentation. The median platelet count was 19000/µl. A total of 147 cases underwent bone marrow aspiration in 61.2% of whom megakaryocyte count faced an increase, in 32% showed to be normal and in 6.8% on the contrary faced a decrease.

 Conclusions

 In our study, no correlation was found either between megakaryocyte counts and acute or chronic ITP or between treatment response and chronicity. Insidious onset was the strongest predictor of chronic disease.

 Key words : Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic, Child, Bone Marrow, Blood Platelets