Chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in Kenyan Africans

Forty-two African patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) seen at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya between June 1975 and June 1981 were used in this study. The disease appears to behave no differently from that in Western populations with regard to clinical and haematological features. Specific problems related to the disease in an African setting and the clinical significance of recognizing the disorder especially in a tropical environment are briefly pointed out.