Abstract: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a common clinical bleeding disorder characterized by a decrease in the number of peripheral blood platelets. Mild cases have no obvious bleeding symptoms. In severe cases, skin and mucous membrane bleeding, menorrhagia, and even internal organ bleeding and intracranial bleeding may occur, which is life-threatening. The pathogenesis of ITP is currently unclear, and it is believed to be related to autoimmunity. ITP has never been cured once for all. Western medicine uses glucocorticoids as the first choice for treatment. However, with the withdrawal of hormones, many patients become hormone-dependent and prone to relapse, along with poor long-lasting effects and high costs. In recent years, clinical applications of traditional Chinese medicine or integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine have made great progress in the treatment of ITP. This paper summarizes the advances in the treatment of ITP with TCM in the past five years from theoretical, clinical and experimental perspectives, hoping to provide reference for the in-depth study of the mechanism by which Chinese medicine helps prevent and treat ITP so as to contribute to the prevention and treatment of the disease.

Key words: immune thrombocytopenia, traditional Chinese medicine, adverse drug reaction