PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Keith McCrae
TI  - Immune thrombocytopenia: No longer ‘idiopathic’
AID  - 10.3949/ccjm.78gr.10005
DP  - 2011 Jun 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - 358--373
VI  - 78
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/78/6/358.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/78/6/358.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med2011 Jun 01; 78
AB  - Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a common hematologic disorder. Its pathogenesis involves both accelerated platelet destruction and impaired platelet production. First-line agents are usually effective initially but do not provide long-term responses. Splenectomy remains an effective long-term therapy, as does rituximab (Rituxan) in a subset of patients. Thrombopoietic agents offer a new alternative, although their place in the overall management of ITP remains uncertain.