A Prospective Study on the Long-Term Vascular Burden in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Patients
A prospective cohort study of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome patients who have presented with their acute episode and are in remission within the last 30 days. They will be followed for 12 months from the time of their initial scan, followed by a long-term follow up study.
• Adults (=18 years) with a recent diagnosis of their first episode of idiopathic TTP, who have been treated with plasma exchange with or without other therapies, and who are in remission. Remission is defined as the normalization of platelet counts and lactate dehydrogenase levels with no clinical signs or symptoms of microvascular injury for more than 30 days. The patients will be included in the study within 30 days of remission of their symptoms. The patients will all meet the following diagnostic criteria for idiopathic TTP: (1) thrombocytopenia with platelet count \<150 x 109 /L, (2) microangiopathic hemolytic anaemia (presence of red blood cell fragmentation by peripheral blood smear), (3) elevation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)\> 1.25 X of the upper limit of normal, and (4) ADAMTS13 Activity \< 10%