Acquired platelet disorders

In contrast to congenital platelet disorders, which are rare, acquired platelet dysfunctions are more common in clinical practice. Their main causes are medications and systemic/hematologic diseases. Typical clinical manifestations are mucosal bleeding, epistaxis, or superficial epidermal bleeding normally of modest entity. In most cases, the molecular mechanisms underlying impaired platelet function are not fully established, making it difficult to optimize patient care. We here provide a short overview of the various forms of acquired platelet disorders, with a particular focus on recent mechanistic studies on platelet dysfunction in von Willebrand disease.