TTP Emergency
This page is intended as a resource for physicians treating a patient with a suspected TTP relapse.
Patients with a history of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (TTP) reporting any of the following symptoms may be experiencing a relapse.
- Purpura
- Petechia
- Paleness or jaundice
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Fast heart rate or shortness of breath
- Headache, speech changes, confusion, coma, stroke or seizure
- Low urine output or blood in the urine.
If this is the case, a CBC needs to be ordered immediately.
If the patient has a low platelet count (less than 150,000), the patient needs to be admitted to the hospital and plasma exchange therapy probably needs to be urgently initiated. In Oklahoma, this service is provided by the Oklahoma Blood Institute. You should call the following number to order plasma exchange therapy: 405-297-5800.
Additional therapies that may be necessary are high dose steroids and/or treatment with Rituximab. We do not, however, recommend these therapies as a replacement for plasma exchange but as therapies to be used together with plasma exchange.
If you are treating a patient with a history of TTP that you suspect may be relapsing, please contact Dr. James George at 405-271-4222. If it is outside of regular business hours, this number will connect you to the hematologist on-call at the University of Oklahoma.