Easy bruising resident survival guide
Overview
Easy bruising is the bruising of skin with minor compression or pressure to the skin. When small capillaries of the superficial skin rupture from pressure or compression, petechiae occur, sometimes ecchymosis is also seen with insignificant trauma which is a bleed in the deeper layers in the skin[1]. A wide variety of causes lead to easy bruising, some of which are clotting and bleeding disorders, platelet dysfunction, age related skin changes, and some forms of cancer such as leukemia.[2]
Causes
Life threatening causes
- Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation
- Leukemia
- Severe thrombocytopneia
Other causes
- Hemophilia A
- Hemophilia B
- Scurvy
- Von Willebrand disease
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Corticosteroid use
- Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
- Henoch-Schonlein Purpura
- ↑ "Easy Bruising and Bleeding". Am Fam Physician. 93 (4): Online. 2016. PMID 26926825.
- ↑ Sham RL, Francis CW (1994). "Evaluation of mild bleeding disorders and easy bruising". Blood Rev. 8 (2): 98–104. doi:10.1016/s0268-960x(05)80014-1. PMID 7950480.