Beyond Platelet Counts: Evaluating Clinical Challenges and Treatment Approaches for Patients Living with ITP

home / insights / beyond-platelet-counts-evaluating-clinical-challenges-and-treatment-approaches-for-patients-with-itp

Catherine M. Broome, MD, discusses how immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is diagnosed, classified, and managed, including bleeding risk assessment, quality of life impacts, personalized treatment approaches, and future directions for addressing this heterogeneous autoimmune disorder that causes low platelet counts.

Episodes

May 30th 2025EP. 1: Understanding Immune Thrombocytopenia: Pathophysiology, Classification, and Differentiation

Catherine M. Broome, MD

A panelist discusses how immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is characterized by isolated low platelet counts due to autoimmune destruction, with classification based on duration (acute, extended, or chronic) and severity of thrombocytopenia.

June 6th 2025EP. 2: Diagnostic and Patient Education Strategies in ITP

Catherine M. Broome, MD

A panelist discusses how ITP diagnosis remains one of exclusion requiring thorough testing to rule out other causes of thrombocytopenia, followed by patient education about autoimmune diseases and bleeding symptoms like nosebleeds, bruising, and petechiae.

June 13th 2025EP. 3: Managing Bleeding Risk in Patients with ITP

Catherine M. Broome, MD

A panelist discusses how bleeding risk assessment depends on platelet count levels (highest risk below 20,000), requiring careful medication history review to avoid drugs that impair platelet function like aspirin and NSAIDs.

June 20th 2025EP. 4: Living with ITP: Impact of Fatigue and Other Symptoms on Patients’ Quality of Life

Catherine M. Broome, MD

A panelist discusses how ITP creates a chronic inflammatory state causing underrecognized symptoms like fatigue and joint pain that significantly impact patients' quality of life and ability to function, while recommending avoidance of activities that could cause head or internal injuries.