Thrombocytopenic Purpura Following Rubella

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Abstract
NINE CASES of thrombocytopenic purpura associated with rubella were seen on the Hematology Service at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, from April to July 1964. During this time a particularly virulent rubella epidemic occurred over most of the state. Despite the ubiquity of rubella, we have found only 30 cases complicated by thrombocytopenic purpura in the medical literature.1,2 Undoubtedly the frequency is higher than this, but thrombocytopenia is rarely mentioned as a complication of this exanthem. Twelve other cases of thrombocytopenic purpura were seen during this same four-month period. A history of exposure to rubella prior to the onset of purpura was obtained in most cases. Though it is possible that some of these patients had subclinical rubella, only those cases with typical rubella (German measles) were included in this report. The occurrence of purpura associated with rubella appears to have no relationship to the severity of the primary rubella