An unusual case of vascular catastrophe
ABSTRACT
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) has beenrecognised as an entity since 1924, and haemolytic uraemicsyndrome (HUS) since 1955. The disease processes havegenerated new interest during the past two decades, andmuch progress has been made both in understanding andtreating these diseases. They are best thought of as part ofthe same disease spectrum, characterised bythrombocytopenia and microangiopathic haemolyticanaemia on the blood film. We present a patient with HUS/TTP who developed the macroangiopathic thromboticcomplications of coronary occlusion causing myocardialinfarction, and cerebral artery occlusion causing massivestroke. To our knowledge, this is the first published report ofmacroangiopathic complications of this condition.
Crit Care Resusc 2006; 8: 341-344
