Wet Purpura, Dry Purpura

Thrombocytopenic purpura is one of few hematologic disorders that may be a five-alarm emergency. It is potentially fatal, yet potentially curable. Adequate intervention can mean the difference. Evaluation of the case need not take long. Look at the patient. Look at a blood smear. Do a platelet count. Aspirate bone marrow from the sternum. (At the sternum, bleeding can be controlled by finger pressure. From a hole in the posterior iliac crest a patient with thrombocytopenia can lose a liter of blood. I have seen a hematoma that extended from knee to axilla.) Examination of the patient permits a most critical determination. Is itwetpurpura ordrypurpura? In either variety the platelet count may be 5,000/cu mm or less, but in wet purpura the patient is bleeding: the gums ooze, or the nose bleeds, or there may be blood blisters in the mouth, all of which cause guaiac-positive