Data about platelet counts related to spontaneous bleeding events

Hi everyone,

Has anyone come across any data or studies that have attempted to study if there is actually a relationship between bleeding events and platelet number? I’m having trouble finding information about this. Most of the treatment guidelines indicate treatment when platelets reach <20 or <10 for the most part, but I can’t find data that indicate what the actual risk of bleeding is at those low levels. I’m hopefully looking for some kind of meta analysis or at least something with a large number if subjects studied. Thanks!

I'm not able to give you what you what you're asking about.
But early on, I found the following article extremely helpful in evaluating my risks and deciding on treatments. It was written by one of the most brilliant ITP minds in the world and has been my personal guidepost for decisions about my treatment. The part that struck me most is in the first paragraph relating to adult management of the disease. It talks about half the observed deaths being from treatments, not from the disease.

link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12325-015-0251-z

Catastrophic, spontaneous bleeds aren't uncommon in people over age 60, but they are uncommon at younger ages. Risk relates more to the sturdiness of blood vessels than to platelet count per se, and old vessels are flimsy and prone to bursting without warning. But that's true even in the elderly without ITP.
Very low counts feature supersized, efficient platelets that can do an exceptional job of clotting when needed.

This article is very helpful!

I found this quote to have answered by question exactly: "This risk varies with age, at 0.4% per annum in those below the age of 40 years to 13% per annum over patients over 60 years of age."