Son with ITP

Hello! I kinda have a long story and could use some advice. My son Zayden (age 2) started getting bruises early August. I brushed it off as he was a toddler. Well in July he had his 2 year exam and they do a routine CBC and his platelet count was 126,000 then. I was never informed and they never seen an issue because he had no other symptoms. Anyhow, the bruising got worse and he developed petechaie. I took him to the clinic September 27th. They did a CBC and his platelet count was 3,000! They immediately sent us to a pediatric hospital and we seen a hematologist. They told me it could either be ITP or leukemia. so they said they were going to try IVIG and if the IVIG worked then it wasn't cancer. The next day after he received IVIG his platelet count was 52,000! So they said he has ITP and sent us on our way. (I forgot to mention we were out of state at he time all of this happened) so as soon as we left the hospital we drove 17 hours home so I could take him to his pediatrician and see what he says. When we get there is platelet count was 199,000, but we still have reactive lymphocytes in his blood work. Well here it is almost 3 weeks since he received IVIG and I'm starting to see bruises and petechaie. We go to his pediatrician in a couple days for another CBC, and then the specialist is getting us in 4 days after that. I asked his pediatrician if they are sure this isn't something else and he said it was ver unlikely. But why does he keep having reactive lymphocytes? His pediatrician says you reactive lymphocytes show up when you have a virus to. But my son has no signs of a virus. I'm just a worried mommy. And I'm so ready to see the specialist and get some answers.

Chances are, your son does have ITP. It's possible to have a virus and not have symptoms and that could also be the reason why his platelets dropped. Children often acquire ITP during an illness or after a vaccine.

IVIG is usually a temporary treatment, so he counts may fall again. It's also possible that they will stay up and the ITP was an acute problem that resolved quickly. Time will tell.

He seems to be very responsive to IVIG and that is a good thing. Try to stay calm until the next appointment. ITP can seem scary, but it is manageable and usually resolves in children. Keep us posted!

He's going on weeks with reactive lymphocytes in his blood work! But like I said it's very unlikely he has something else but even that slight chance is driving me crazy. He gets blood work done tomorrow! Thank you for your reply.

Good luck tomorrow and let us know, okay? I know it's hard not worry when it comes to our children.

Platelet count dropped to 45,000. Still have elevated lymphocytes. We are going to a blood disorder/cancer center for children tomorrow to see a hematologist/oncologist! Hopefully we will get some answers.

Good luck and let us know!

Try not to let the "cancer center" part of this freak you out. Most hematologists are affiliated with cancer centers and work mostly in oncology. Also, infusions used to treat ITP (such as IVIG) are often performed in cancer centers. ITP is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that all of the other possibilities need to be ruled out.