Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) treatment: Italian cooperative retrospective study on 29 cases
Haematologica 71(1): 39-43
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0390-6078 PMID: 3084354 Document Number: 280288
In this paper the data of 29 TTP patients, treated in the Centers adhering to the Italian Cooperative Group, are presented. Diagnosis was based on biohumoral data and the clinical picture: microangiopathic anemia, thrombocytopenia, neurologic manifestations, fever and renal dysfunction. Twenty-two patients were treated by plasma exchange, associated with antiplatelet agents and/or steroids, and seven patients received drug therapy only. In the patients treated by plasma exchange (P.E.) complete remission was achieved in 86% of the cases, with clinical improvement after the first exchange. In order to avoid relapses most of the patients were treated with antiplatelet agens and/or steroids, except one case (with large F VIII multimers), who was given monthly plasma exchanges. All the patients were carefully followed, and relapse was observed in 3 of them. Our data confirm that P.E. is the therapy of choice in the acute phase treatment of TTP.