Intracranial hemorrhage at the onset of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in an infant: therapeutic approach and intensive care management

Pediatr Emerg Care. 2001 Feb;17(1):42-5. doi: 10.1097/00006565-200102000-00013.

Abstract

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is quite rare in infancy and must be treated intensively as a life-threatening disease. Diffuse vascular thromboses may occur, and neurologic involvement is a cornerstone of the diagnosis of TTP. We describe a case of an infant who presented with a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and subsequently developed the typical clinical features of TTP. Emergency treatment in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) consisted of plasma therapy and exchange-transfusion (EXT) to arrest the intravascular process and the exsanguinating blood loss. Exchange-transfusion is a life-saving procedure that is rarely performed after the neonatal age.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Critical Care / methods*
  • Emergency Treatment / methods*
  • Erythrocyte Transfusion
  • Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood
  • Female
  • Fibrinogen / metabolism
  • Hemoglobins
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Intracranial Hemorrhages / chemically induced
  • Intracranial Hemorrhages / etiology*
  • Intracranial Hemorrhages / therapy*
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Partial Thromboplastin Time
  • Plasma
  • Prothrombin Time
  • Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic / blood
  • Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic / chemically induced
  • Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic / complications*
  • Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic / therapy*
  • Time Factors
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Hemoglobins
  • Fibrinogen