Hematology Reports (Aug 2022)

COVID-19-Associated Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: A Case Report and Systematic Review

  • Haseeb Chaudhary,
  • Usama Nasir,
  • Khezar Syed,
  • Maria Labra,
  • Christopher Reggio,
  • Ansar Aziz,
  • Parin Shah,
  • Roopika Reddy,
  • Navdeep Sangha

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/hematolrep14030035
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 3
pp. 253 – 260

Abstract

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Introduction: The proliferation of literature regarding the COVID-19 pandemic has served to highlight a wide spectrum of disease manifestations and complications, such as thrombotic microangiopathies. Our review with a brief case presentation highlights the increasing recognition of TTP in COVID-19 and describes its salient characteristics. Methods: We screened the available literature in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases from inception until April 2022 of articles mentioning COVID-19-associated TTP in English language. Results: From 404 records, we included 8 articles mentioning data of 11 patients in our review. TTP was predominantly reported in females (72%) with a mean age of 48.2 years (SD 15.1). Dyspnea was the most common symptom in one third of patients (36.6%). Neurological symptoms were reported in 27.3% of cases. The time to diagnosis of TTP was 10 days (SD 5.8) from onset of COVID-19. All 11 cases underwent plasma exchange (PLEX), with a mean of 12 sessions per patient, whereas 6 cases received Rituximab (54.5%), and 3 received Caplacizumab (27.3%). One patient died from the illness. Conclusion: This review of available literature highlights the atypical and refractory nature of COVID-19-associated TTP. It required longer sessions of PLEX, with half of the patients receiving at least one immunosuppressant.

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