International Journal of Hematology

, Volume 96, Issue 6, pp 810–813 | Cite as

Two cases of pediatric essential thrombocythemia managed effectively with hydroxyurea

  • Vikas Dua
  • Satya Prakash Yadav
  • Vijay Kumar
  • Renu Saxena
  • Anupam Sachdeva
Case Report
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Thrombocytosis is common in infancy and childhood. Essential thrombocythemia (ET), a myeloproliferative disorder, is a much less common cause of thrombocytosis in childhood. We report two cases of essential thrombocythemia in 5- and 10-year-old children, who presented with platelet counts of more than 1,000,000/mm3. Treatment is not recommended for ET in an asymptomatic patient in the absence of bleeding or thrombosis and a platelet count <1,500,000/mm3. Our first case had platelets >1,500,000/mm3, and a second child was symptomatic with recurrent headache. Both responded well to therapy with hydroxyurea (dose 15–30 mg/kg/day) and tolerated it well.

Keywords

Essential thrombocythemia Childhood Hydroxyurea 
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Copyright information

© The Japanese Society of Hematology 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Vikas Dua
    • 1
  • Satya Prakash Yadav
    • 1
  • Vijay Kumar
    • 2
  • Renu Saxena
    • 3
  • Anupam Sachdeva
    • 1
  1. 1.Pediatric Hematology Oncology and BMT Unit, Department of Pediatrics Institute of Child HealthSir Ganga Ram HospitalNew DelhiIndia
  2. 2.Department of HematologySir Ganga Ram HospitalNew DelhiIndia
  3. 3.Department of GeneticsSir Ganga Ram HospitalNew DelhiIndia

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