Purpura pathophysiology

Purpura is a common and unspecific symptom, however the underlying mechanism commonly involves one of the following;

• Platelet disorders
  • Primary thrombocytopenic purpura
  • Secondary thrombocytopenic purpura
• Vascular disorders
  • Microvascular injury, as seen in senile (old age) purpura, when blood vessels are more easily damaged
  • Hypertensive states
  • Deficient vascular support
  • Vasculitis, as in the case of Henoch-Schönlein purpura
• Coagulation disorders
  • Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

There are also cases of psychogenic purpura described in the medical literature,^[1] some claimed to be due to “autoerythrocyte sensitization”. Other studies^[2] suggest, that local (cutaneous) activity of tPA can be increased in psychogenic purpura, leading to substantial amounts of localized plasmin activity, rapid degradation of fibrin clots, and resultant bleeding.

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