Evaluation of mild bleeding disorders and easy bruising.

The diagnostic approach to easy bruising or a suspected mild bleeding disorder includes a careful history and physical examination as well as laboratory investigations. The history should determine whether or not a bleeding disorder exists and help elucidate possible causes. The physical examination should evaluate evidence of bleeding and identify systemic illness. The laboratory investigation should include both screening and more specific diagnostic tests depending on the results of the screening tests and clinical findings. The review will provide a framework for generating a differential diagnosis in patients with suspected bleeding disorders and will categorize them into abnormalities of coagulation factors, platelets and those related to blood vessels and supporting tissues.