what is itp blood disorder
ITP - Immune thrombocytopenia, also known as immune or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, is a rare bleeding disorder characterized by a low amount of platelets in the blood. Platelets are needed for clotting of the blood.
Chronic immune thrombocytopenia persists longer than six months with a specific cause being unknown. ITP is an autoimmune disease with antibodies detectable against several platelet surface antigens. ITP is diagnosed by a low platelet count in a complete blood count (a common blood test). However, since the diagnosis depends on the exclusion of other causes of a low platelet count, additional investigations (such as a bone marrow biopsy) may be necessary in some cases.