Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Types
There are two types of ITP: acute and chronic:
- Acute ITP: This form of ITP lasts less than six months and usually affects children, most commonly those between 2 and 6 years old. It usually appears immediately after viral infection. Most children with acute ITP recover without treatment and eventually recovered platelet count to normal levels. However, the 7 to 28% of people with acute ITP go on to develop chronic ITP.
- Chronic ITP: This form of ITP lasts more than six months and usually affects adults between 20 and 40 years of age also requires medical treatment to restore normal levels of platelets. Chronic ITP is three times more common in women than in men. Usually, a person has occasional bleeding from mild to moderate for weeks or months before seeing a doctor.
In most cases, is unknown the cause of ITP. In a few cases it may be a reaction to a specific drug or a food ingredient, such as quinine in tonic water. In the U.S., the ITP is a relatively rare disease that affects about four out of every 100,000 people each year.