Immune (Idiopathic) Thrombocytopenic Purpura - Incidence, Current Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches in the Czech Republic
Abstract
A questionnaire was published in the bulletin of the Czech Paediatric Society and in the journal Vox Paediatriae asking for information about the incidence and management of immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in children in the Czech Republic. The incidence of ITP is 4.6/100 000 children/year and is highest among children 2 - 6 years old.
Boys suffer from acute ITP more often than girls. Paediatric haematologists take care of more than 80 % children with acute ITP and more than 90 % children with the chronic form of this disease.
Bone marrow aspiration is performed in 75 % patients on diagnosis. Front line treatment consists of steroids alone or in combination with high-dose immunoglobulins in 73 % children. 22 % patients did not receive any therapy.
The dose of steroids is higher and the duration of this treatment is longer than is necessary for most of these children. The Czech Working Group for Paediatric Haematology will use this information to prepare guidelines for optimal diagnostic approaches and treatment strategies of this as a rule short and self-limiting illness.