A Case of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Accompanying Ulcerative Colitis

• DOI: 10.4166/kjg.2014.64.4.234
• Publication Date: 2014-10-27T08:31:27Z
• Authors: Hyun Tae Kim; Tae Oh Kim; Hyung Jun Kim; Soon Il Lee; Gi Jung Jeon; Eun Ji Lee; Seunghyun Park; Taehoon No
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; 3. Good health

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory disorder of the colon with a variable clinical course of exacerbation and remission. Extraintestinal manifestations of UC, including hematological disorders, such as the rare immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), may be the presenting symptoms. We encountered the case of a 23-year-old man with UC who showed typical symptoms and endoscopic findings. Despite receiving steroid treatment, the patient developed severe thrombocytopenia. He was diagnosed with ITP, characterized by autoimmunity, a demonstrated low platelet count, normal bone marrow, positivity for autoantibody to platelet membrane antigen, and no splenomegaly. We initiated high dose intravenous immunoglobulin immediately for treatment of his steroid-refractory thrombocytopenia. The patient’s hematochezia and platelet count improved following immunoglobulin treatment. After discharge, the patient’s platelet count was maintained at a stable level and his condition was good. This case suggests that immunoglobulin therapy may be useful for treatment of ITP in UC. (Korean J Gastroenterol 2014;64:234-238)