International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics | March 2021 | Vol 8 | Issue 3 Page 588
International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics
Badarayan KV et al. Int J Contemp Pediatr. 2021 Mar;8(3):588-589
http://www.ijpediatrics.com pISSN 2349-3283 | eISSN 2349-3291
Case Report
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura with
psoriasis: a rare association in children
Karthik V. Badarayan*, Jitendra S. Oswal, Sunil V. Kapur
INTRODUCTION
It is known that approximately 80% of Immune
thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) patients suffer from the
primary form and the remaining have a secondary form.
1
The diseases associated with the secondary form include
lupus erythematosus (5%), infections like HCV, HIV, and
Helicobacter pylori (6%), post-vaccination (1%),
antiphospholipid syndrome (2%), lymphoma (2%) and
Evans syndrome (2%).
2
It may take months or even years
until the clinical manifestation of the associated disease
becomes obvious. Eg. malignancies. However, systematic
analysis of the incidence of secondary ITP is lacking.
2
CASE REPORT
A 11 years old female child, presented with erythematous
non pruritic scaly rash over her scalp, axilla and elbows
since 1 month (Figure 1). This was followed by multiple
petechial rash all over her body (Figure 2). No history of
other bleeding manifestation, night sweats, oral ulcers,
icterus, headaches, visual disturbances or joint swelling.
Rest of her past and family history was unremarkable.
Birth, development and immunization history was
uneventful. Anthropometric parameters and vitals
including blood pressure were normal. Clinical
examination revealed scaly dermatitis over her scalp, both
the axillae and elbows along with multiple petechial rash
all over her body and other systemic examination within
normal limits. Laboratory investigations showed isolated
thrombocytopenia (haemoglobin- 11.8 g/dl, total
leukocyte count- 10000/cumm and platelets
<10,000/cumm). Her coagulation tests were normal. Bone
marrow examination findings were consistent with
peripheral platelet destruction. For her scaly dermatitis,
skin biopsy was done from her right axilla which showed
parakeratosis and thickened projections of the prickle cell
layer of keratinocytes suggestive of psoriasis [Figure 3].
Human immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis
C tests were negative. Thyroid function, Renal function
and liver function tests were within normal range. Anti-
nuclear antibody by Immunofluorescence method had
insignificant titre (1:100). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
C-reactive protein, C3 and C4 levels were normal. Direct
coomb’s test and Antiphospholipid antibody test was
negative.
In our patient, ITP with Psoriasis was diagnosed based on
isolated thrombocytopenia, bone marrow findings and skin
biopsy proven psoriasis. She was started on oral
prednisolone at 2 mg/kg/day and her subsequent platelet
counts showed an improving trend as well her psoriatic
ABSTRACT
Autoimmune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is one of the best characterized autoimmune diseases which is classified into
primary (idiopathic) and secondary forms. A high index of suspicion is warranted for the diagnosis of secondary ITP.
There is limited data on association of ITP with Psoriasis. We herein describe a 11 years old girl who presented with a
rare association of ITP and Psoriasis who responded to oral steroids.
Keywords: Autoimmune thrombocytopenia, Psoriasis, Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics, Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Received: 31 December 2020
Accepted: 30 January 2021
*Correspondence:
Dr. Karthik V. Badarayan,
E-mail: Karthik.vbadarayan@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
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use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20210672