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Case Reports
. 2021 Summer;21(2):187-189.
doi: 10.31486/toj.20.0100.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Inducing Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Case Series

Nancy Guirguis  1 , Tyler Rehman  1 , Yara Shams  1 , Melanie Gordon  2 , Essam Mekhaiel  3 , Shaina Rozell  4 , Mauna Pandya  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Inducing Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Case Series

Nancy Guirguis et al. Ochsner J. 2021 Summer.

Abstract

Background: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) refers to immune-mediated destruction of platelets. Viral infections have been proposed as an etiology of ITP; antibodies developed in response to infection may cross-react with normal platelets and result in their destruction. Case Series: We report 2 cases in which coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) likely induced severe ITP. Conclusion: ITP may also play a role in the thrombocytopenia observed in some patients with COVID-19. ITP in this patient population may be more prevalent than currently documented.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; immune thrombocytopenic purpura.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Computed tomography images show filling defect (arrows, left panel) suggestive of pulmonary emboli and extensive ground-glass opacities (right panel) in bilateral lungs.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Rash on the left leg (Case 2) demonstrates nonblanching diffuse petechiae.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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