Immune thrombocytopenic purpura in ulcerative colitis: a case report and systematic review

• Main Authors: Subhash Chandra, Sarah Finn, Eugene Obah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2014-04-01
• Series: Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives
• Subjects: immune thrombocytopenic purpura; ulcerative colitis; anti-tumor necrosis factor antibodies; intravenous immunoglobulins; extraintestinal manifestation
• Online Access: http://www.jchimp.net/index.php/jchimp/article/download/23386/pdf_1
• ISSN: 2000-9666

Over 100 extraintestinal manifestations are reported in ulcerative colitis (UC). A commonly reported hematological manifestation is autoimmune hemolytic anemia. On rare occasions, immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has been reported with UC. The presence of thrombocytopenia can complicate the clinical scenario as the number of bloody bowel movements is an important indicator of disease activity in UC. A proposed theory for this association is antigenic mimicry between a platelet surface antigen and bacterial glycoprotein. We are reporting a case of UC and associated ITP managed successfully with anti-TNF therapy. We also performed a systemic review of case reports and a case series reporting this association.