A Case Report of Successful Management of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Syndrome (TTP) in a Pregnant Woman with Plasmapheresis

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is a rare and life-threatening disease with a relatively high prevalence of 5% in pregnancy that causes thrombocytopenia. Due to the high prevalence and mortality of fetal and maternal mortality, which resolves rapidly with the onset of plasmapheresis, the diagnosis of this disease is clinically important. The aim of this study was to successfully manage thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura syndrome (TTP) with plasmapheresis in pregnant women.

Case Report: 

The patient was a 29-year-old woman who was admitted at 21 weeks’ gestation and second pregnancy with fever, muscle aches, increased liver enzymes, headache, decreased consciousness and hallucinations. Due to the low pH and high lactic acid dehydrogenase and neurological symptoms and fever, TTP was diagnosed for the patient and started with 15 units of freshly frozen plasma daily plasma milling until normalization of lactic acid dehydrogenase and platelets. He was discharged in good general condition.

TTP should be considered in the differential diagnosis of missed pregnancies in the second trimester of pregnancy and pregnancies with thrombotic microangiopathy and reduced ADAMTS13 activity should be considered. Although TTP is a deadly disease without treatment, most patients recover with plasmapheresis, so it is recommended to start plasmapheresis as soon as there is clinical doubt based on the patientchr('39')s tests and symptoms.