Treatment of thrombocytopenia
Last reviewed: 19.11.2021
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Treatment of thrombocytopenia is recommended to begin after a haematological examination.
Mostly, it is difficult to establish the exact cause of this disease, or the factors that led to its occurrence are not important for drawing up a plan for treatment activities. This is justified by the fact that treatment activities can be targeted both against thrombocytopenia proper , and aimed at the disease in which it acts as a co-morbid condition.
Diagnosis of thrombopenia involves the conduct of laboratory blood tests during a treatment course using corticosteroids. In addition, there is the application of methods of genetic tests, as well as tests for the content of antibodies. The patient needs to undergo a series of studies, including an electrocardiogram, radiography and endoscopic examination.
This or that program of necessary medical measures at a thrombopenia is defined depending on what there are general standards in therapy of the basic disease. So Verlhof's disease, which is a chronic immunopathological thrombopenic purpura (purpura-capillary hemorrhage of a small-spotted nature in the mucous membranes or under the skin), provides surgical intervention for the removal of the spleen. Splenectomy in 80% of cases leads to a positive result. If this surgical treatment turns out to be ineffective, a course of chemotherapy therapy is prescribed, or immunoglobulins can be prescribed. In some cases, prior to the initiation of hormone therapy, plasmapheresis may be justified.
As a rule, the treatment of thrombocytopenia, ranging from examination and diagnosis, determination of the appropriateness of the use of certain therapeutic measures, to the immediate course of therapy, takes a period of time from two months to six months. After completion of the course, the patient should be under clinical supervision.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia by alternative means
Due to the fact that this disease is a diathesis of hemorrhagic nature, the treatment of thrombocytopenia by alternative means basically reduces to the use of all kinds of charges with hemostatic properties.
In cases of gastric, uterine and renal, as well as bleeding in the intestine, alternative medicine recommends a blood-grooming drug. The decoction of this perennial herbaceous plant, called a blood-groove pharmacy or glandular, produces an astringent effect. For cooking it is necessary to boil its crushed roots in an amount of 2 st. Spoon with 250 ml. Water on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Take with a teaspoon of jam.
With bleeding of all types, the use of nettle can be beneficial. This alternative means is prepared as follows. 1 tbsp. Spoon of dried leaves for 250 ml. Boiling water should boil for 10 minutes on a small fire, after which you need to let cool, and then drain. Take should be in the amount of 2 tbsp. Spoons for 4-5 times throughout the day.
A wonderful alternative remedy for all types of bleeding is the bark of the Kalina. Four teaspoons of crushed bark for 300 ml. Boiling water cooked on low heat for 30 minutes, after which it is necessary to strain and take two st. Spoons from 3 to 4 times a day.
Thrombocytopenia is treated with alternative means also with the use of herb collection. It is necessary to mix flowers and leaves according to the shepherd's bag, yarrow and dry cucumber whips, 25 grams each of these ingredients. One Art. Spoon of the resulting mixture for 0.5 liter. Boiling water is brewed for 5-6 hours. Take three times a day for 20 minutes before meals, in quantities of 150 to 180 ml.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia with alternative agents can lead to the achievement of a positive result, and be an effective way to combat this disease, if it is not characterized by a significant degree of severity. However, one should not forget that before applying such kind of medical measures, it is necessary to consult a medical specialist.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia with herbs
Thrombocytopenia in its severe forms involves the provision of therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating the agent susceptible to defeat, which means the need to establish the causes and cure the underlying disease. Mild forms of thrombopenia, in which there are no clinical manifestations of it, do not require therapy, but only regular medical monitoring of the course of the disease is necessary. An example of this can serve as thrombopenia in women during pregnancy, which is characterized by a tendency to spontaneous healing after childbirth.
In the mild forms of this disease, not associated with the need for any significant and radical medical interventions: therapy or surgery, various alternative methods, in particular, the treatment of thrombocytopenia with herbs, can be effective. The essence of herbal medicine in this case is that by applying certain means of plant origin it becomes possible to achieve improvement in blood characteristics. First of all it concerns its coagulability. In this regard, the healing properties inherent in nettle, dog rose, yarrow are especially useful.
A decoction is prepared from the leaves of the nettle. Three st. Spoons of nettle on a glass of boiling water are brewed and infused for 10 minutes, then it must be filtered and left to cool. Take it three to four times during the day.
Fruits of wild rose and strawberry in the amount of one st. Spoon of each of the ingredients are poured 250 ml. Boiling water. After being infused for a quarter of an hour, the infusion is filtered and taken half a cup three times throughout the day.
A curative remedy for yarrow is prepared as follows. Two of his art. Spoons for 250 ml. Boiling water insist half an hour. Next, the infusion is filtered and taken three times throughout the day, one st. Spoon.
Thus, the treatment of thrombocytopenia with herbs is focused, first of all, on helping to normalize blood parameters, improve the properties of its coagulability, and in addition, the use of certain herbs is recommended when anemia develops against the background of the disease (anemia).
Treatment of thrombocytopenia with prednisolone
Treatment of thrombocytopenia with prednisolone is the main method of symptomatic therapy of this blood disease. Prednisolone is a hormonal drug of the steroid group, and its use has a beneficial effect on the prognosis of the course of the disease, as it contributes to the achievement of a positive effect within the first week of use. In the period from 7 to 10 days of the course of such therapy, disappearance of hemorrhagic eruptions is noted, and after some time the amount of blood platelets in the blood is normalized.
The initial dosage with prednisolone therapy is 1-2 mg / kg per day. As the content of platelets in the blood begins to increase, after the second or third week of therapy, the dose of the drug gradually decreases. In order to maintain the number of blood platelets within the appropriate range, a 10-20 percent dose reduction per week is allowed. As a result, more than half of the patients achieve a positive effect, and in 25 percent of cases there is a remission.
If the drug is not effective enough, there are side effects, or when high doses of prednisolone are required, immunoglobulins are given for intravenous administration. This is done in a daily dosage of 0.4 g / kg for five days.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia with prednisolone is justified when the hemorrhagic syndrome begins to show a tendency to increase its intensity, if bleeding occurs in the conjunctiva, rashes appear on the face and on the mucous membranes in the oral cavity. In addition, the cause of the need for such therapeutic measures is a decrease in the content of blood platelets in the blood to a critically low level - less than 20 000 / μL. In cases where there is no evidence of a hemorrhage in the cranial cavity, or bleeding of the mucous membranes, a waiting tactic is chosen.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia in children
Thrombocytopenia is mainly found in preschool children. The incidence of this disease in boys and girls is approximately the same. The highest probability of such an illness occurs during the winter-spring period, in the off-season of winter and spring. Risk factors associated with the possibility of the occurrence of thrombopenia in a child are considered to be recent illnesses of chickenpox, measles, rubella, the Epstein-Barr virus, etc. In addition, it is likely that the disease can develop as a result of vaccination against the causative agents. Today, for the time being, it is impossible to explain with all certainty what exactly causes this disease. It is suggested that thrombopenia is one of the immune responses to the appearance of foreign substances in the body, at which antibody-antigen complexes are formed.
About the presence of the disease indicates the appearance in the child of pinpoint hemorrhages under the skin, frequent bleeding from the nose, bleeding gums. The greatest danger is bleeding intracranial and internal organs.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia in children begins after further research is needed to establish an accurate diagnosis. The main role in the diagnosis of thrombopenia in a child is played by a careful laboratory blood test, as well as a visual assessment of her cells through a microscope. When performing ultrasound, in some cases, it is revealed that the spleen is hypertrophied. In the situation of relapse, and also when the course of the disease is characterized by a protracted character - from 3 months to 6 months, it may be necessary to perform a bone marrow puncture.
The therapeutic measures are carried out by transfusion of platelets from the donor, which makes it possible to correct the progress of the disease. In the case of hemorrhages and rashes on the face and mucous membranes immediately begin to steroid therapy. A positive result from it begins to appear after the expiry of the period from one week to 10 days.
In order for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in children to be effective, and the prognosis of the development of the disease was favorable and its presence did not pose a threat to the life and development of the child, it is very important, by identifying the initial symptoms, to carry out the necessary examinations and diagnostics, based on which results to start the necessary therapeutic measures.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy
Treatment of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy should be mandatory, if blood levels are characterized by a level of blood platelets less than 20-40 * 10 9 per liter. Another important condition besides the therapy of the underlying disease that provoked a decrease in the number of platelets in the blood is the need to combine with it the maintenance of a homeostasis system.
A course of therapy using dexamethasone, prednisolone - preparations of the group of glucocorticosteroids is prescribed. Their use in late pregnancy is also a positive factor contributing to the acceleration of the process of lung formation in a future child. Proceeding from this circumstance, if there are relevant indications, it is possible to make a decision on the early resolution of childbirth. Glucocorticosteroids are used for short courses, as the clinical effect is achieved, gradually reducing their dose.
In those cases, if corticosteroids have proved to be insufficiently effective for their entire use, it may be expedient to administer immunoglobulin intravenously. During the entire period in which a woman has a child, 3-4 times a day is allowed, and subsequently - during and immediately after delivery. The trobocyte mass during pregnancy is transfused only in urgent, extremely exceptional cases.
Ineffectiveness of medicinal treatment measures may cause the need for splenectomy, removal of the spleen. In pregnancy, such a surgical intervention is allowed during the second trimester, and the optimal way for this is a laparoscopic operation.
Summing up how the treatment of thrombocytopenia during pregnancy can occur, we note that the health of a woman during the period when she is preparing to experience the pleasures of motherhood requires very close attention, and many factors need to be carefully analyzed so that drug effects and other medical manipulations do not they hurt the baby. It is necessary to calculate the dosage of the drugs proceeding from this, and it is desirable to choose the methods of operative intervention in favor of the one that is associated with the least possibility of damage to the future mother's organism (laparoscopy) and harm to her baby.
Treatment of autoimmune thrombocytopenia
Autoimmune thrombopenia is also called thrombocytopenia idiopathic or Verlhof disease. With this disease, every blood plate contained in the blood is identified by the body as some kind of foreign body. Under the influence of autoantibodies produced by the lymph nodes, liver and spleen platelets in the blood becomes less than those indicators that are the norm.
Treatment of autoimmune thrombocytopenia is regulated by certain principles and rules, as well as by the consistency and measure of the use of certain medical effects and activities that are appropriate at each particular stage of the progress of the disease.
First of all, prednisolone is prescribed, at an initial dosage of 1 mg / kg per day. If the disease is more significant degree of severity, depending on this dose can be increased by an amount not exceeding the initial more than twice the maximum. After the lapse of several days after the glucocorticosteroids began to be applied, there is a tendency to decrease the degree of symptomatology. The satisfactory effect achieved serves as a rationale for the gradual reduction of the dose until the drug is discontinued.
Sometimes the therapy does not lead to the achievement of a positive result, or the occurrence of relapses is possible. This may necessitate a surgical procedure in order to remove the spleen. Such removal or splenectomy with a 75 percent probability provides the possibility of healing the patient. In some cases, the patient's condition may return to normal within the next six months, which is a delayed effect from the operation.
If, due to the course of prednisolone, and subsequently the removal of the spleen, there are no positive changes in the patient's condition, treatment activities continue with the use of glucocorticosteroids and cytostatic immunosuppressants.
So, the treatment of autoimmune thrombocytopenia is a fairly complex process, which requires that all its stages be aligned in a certain sequence. Since, for example, immunosuppressants, prescribed before the spleen is removed, will adversely affect the possibility of a successful operation.
Treatment of secondary thrombocytopenia
Secondary thrombopenia can result from the fact that the body has been radiological impact - in this case it acts as one of the symptoms of radiation sickness. In addition, the cause of such a disease can be poisoning of the body with various toxic substances, including heavy metal salts, alcohol, etc. At the same time, this nosology is a combination of symptoms characterized by pancytopenia. This disease can also occur with uremia.
Secondary thrombopenia occurs because of the harmful effects on the bone marrow of all kinds of toxins: gasoline with its derivatives - lacquers, pesticides, organic solvents, and in addition, due to the entry into the body of bacterial poisons, and mainly viruses: chicken pox, infectious mononucleosis, measles, scarlet fever and so on. The use of cytostatic drugs can provoke this blood disease.
Diagnosis and treatment of secondary thrombocytopenia is performed with a patient who needs to be in a hospital for this. After conducting a comprehensive laboratory and diagnostic examination, appropriate therapy is prescribed. The plan of medical measures is made in such a way as to subject the targeted therapeutic effect to the main reason that led to the progress of thrombopenia. In addition to this, the therapy of this ailment presupposes the orientation of therapeutic measures against the original pathological processes and phenomena in the patient's body, which they cause secondary thrombopenia.
Since this blood disease is predominantly one of the symptomatic complex of the underlying disease, the treatment of secondary thrombocytopenia mainly involves the use of therapeutic and prophylactic measures aimed at his healing. Prevention is of great importance. It is aimed at avoiding the effects of factors that cause damage to the bone marrow and, as a result, lead to pathological transformations of megakaryocytes which are the precursors of the blood platelets.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy
Thrombopenia is a complication, one of the most dangerous arising on the background of ongoing chemotherapy. The disease is characterized by a tendency to a significant decrease in the number of platelets, which in turn manifests itself in the deterioration of blood clotting. Because of this, bleeding is different in intensity, which leads to the need to reduce the use of chemotherapy drugs, or makes their use impossible. To increase the level of platelets, to the deficit of which leads to a detrimental effect on the composition of the blood of chemical agents used in chemotherapy, a variety of medical devices can be prescribed.
Treatment of thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy is carried out with the use of dexamethasone, prednisolone, etc., which are hormonal preparations that are added to the list of prescriptions from the very beginning of the course of chimotherapy. They have a positive effect on the strengthening of the vascular walls and contribute to an increase in blood clotting. A similar beneficial effect is observed when using Derinata, the basis for the production of which is the nucleic acids contained in the salmon. Positively affecting the composition of blood and possessing strengthening properties for the walls of blood vessels the preparation is etamzilate.
Prednisolone. The form of the preparation is in tablets, in the form of ointments, and in ampoules of 1 ml with a quantity of 3 pcs. Packaged. It is prescribed 1-2 mg / kg for a day, or with a daily dosage of 60 mg / m2 for three weeks, gradually reducing the dose until complete cancellation. Prolonged use of the drug is associated with the possibility of obesity, excessive hair growth in women on the body and face, violation of the cycle of menstruation, the development of osteoporosis, increased glycemic index, etc.
Dexamethasone finds its use in thrombopenia in the event that prednisolone is ineffective. It is presented in the form of tablets, drops, and also as a solution for injections in ampoules of 1 ml. Ampoules in the package can vary from 5 to 10. The drug is administered in several courses (not more than 4) at 0.6 mg / kg for a day intravenously, or 20 mg / m2 for 4 days every two of the week. Side effects may be the emergence of tachycardia and baricardia, attacks of angina pectoris, the phenomenon of arterial hypertension, increased intracranial and intraocular pressure, rhombophlebitis, eosinophilia.
Derinat has the appearance of a solution for external or topical application, another form of release is a solution for injection in a 5 or 10 ml flacon, 1.5% and 0.25% respectively. The drug is administered intramuscularly (you need to enter for 1-2 minutes) in a dose of 5 ml (75 mg) of a solution of 1.5% with a break from 24 to 72 hours. The drug is well tolerated by patients. But pain can be from one and a half to three hours after the injection. Sometimes there is an increase in temperature to 380C, which does not necessitate the withdrawal of use.
Etamsylate is a tablet, packed in a blister in the amount of 10 or 50 pcs. It is taken orally three to four times a day, during or after a meal. The use of the drug can provoke such symptoms as the occurrence of a headache, nausea, the urge to vomit, cause allergies, skin rashes.
The treatment of thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy is carried out using a variety of medications and is aimed at bringing the blood composition, including platelet content, to changes due to the action of active chemicals with appropriate therapy.