Immune thrombocytopenia is a rare autoimmune disease. This is a diagnosis by the process of elimination. In children the disease is characterized by a sudden decrease in platelet count, with only 50% to 60% of patients having detectable anti-platelet antibodies in peripheral blood. The pathogenesis is heterogeneous, and the diagnosis is complex.
The challenge lies in immunohematological diagnosis – there is no standard test or biomarker. The immune response may be in the bone marrow, directed against megakaryocytes or newly formed platelets. Antiplatelet antibodies are undetectable at low titers and correlate with a certain type of treatment. Autoantibodies in immune thrombocytopenia are a challenge for immunohematologists and clinicians unlike autoantibodies in autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Read the full article here.