[Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in infants and small children (1 to 3 years old)].

In infant and young children (1-3 yrs), I.T.P. (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura) is an acute, self-limited disease in 6 months since the diagnosis. The treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins or corticosteroids will be administered in severe forms of disease(predicted by the severity of hemorrhage and thrombocytes less than 10 G./l). A retrospective study of 29 cases with I.T.P. in infants and young children shows that 22 out of 29 were acute I.T.P., 7 out of 29 were recurrent I.T.P., in which 3 cases were chronic I.T.P. Post-hemorrhage associated anemia was present in 10 out of 29 cases, in which 3 cases was severe. Prolonged bleeding time appears only in severe I.T.P. Values of thrombocytes less than 10 G/l were met in 6 cases of acute I.T.P. and in 3 cases with recurrent I.T.P., there was no predictable correlation between the very low value in the time of diagnosis and the following clinical course of the disease. Neonatal I.T.P. (history of maternal I.T.P) had a favourable clinical course after i.v. immunoglobulins treatment (1 case) and a trend to chronicity (1 case) probably due to platelet antiphospholipid antibodies. Postvaccinal I.T.P. is a rare and benign complication. Only 5 of 29 cases had spontaneous remission. The clinical course was towards complete remission in 22 out of 29 cases with i.v. immunoglobulins and/or corticosteroid therapy. In conclusion, view the natural history of disease and the unvariables responses to treatment, spontaneous bleeding cannot be predicted only by platelet count in I.T.P.-Infant-low age (1-3 yrs).