Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: onset during dipyridamole therapy

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in Older Patients

“…Three patients, including one of ours, were receiving aspirin 2,31 when the syndrome developed, while four others were receiving Prednisone, two at high doses, 30,61 and two at moderate doses 29,62 . Another patient, as well as our third patient, developed the disorder while receiving dipyridamole 43 …”

“…Thirteen patients received platelet transfusions, 7,14,15,19,28,35,43,44,46,50,61 but our third patient was the only person in whom sudden clinical deterioration or death could be attributed to platelet transfusions.…”

“…Patient Background One hundred and one cases of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in patients 50 years of age or older, including the three patients in this report (Table 1) are reported in the English medical literature 1,2,4–64 . The age distribution of these patients is shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Seven patients were treated for urinary tract infections in the weeks prior to the onset of other clinical manifestations of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura 12,19,21,36,43,49 . One patient presented with chronic glomerular disease simulating glomerulonephritis before recognition of other feature of TTP 22 …”

“…Thirty patients were treated with splenectomy, often after other therapies had failed. Fifteen patients survived 7,11,20,35,39,42–44,64 . Most of these were from two reports 11,39 .…”