ITP: Combo Treatment Deemed Safe, Effective

Combination treatment with recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) and high-dose dexamethasone (DXM) is safe and effective for children with refractory immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), according to a new research.

These findings emerged from a study of 58 children with ITP who had failed first-line therapy. Each patient was assigned to treatment with DXM (n = 27), and rhTPO + DXM (n = 31).

YOU MIGHT LIKE
Bleeding Risk Factors Identified for ITP
FDA Approves New Immune Thrombocytopenia Treatment

Patients being treated with DXM received 2 continuous cycles of DXM treatment, with a high-dose DXM intravenous drip (0.6 mg/kg daily) administered for 4 days every 28 days. In the rhTPO group, patients received a subcutaneous injection of rhTPO (300 U/kg daily) for 14 days, along with DXM treatment.

The overall response rate—which included response rate and slight response rate—and any adverse reactions were recorded at 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months of treatment.

Ultimately, patients treated with rhTPO + DXM demonstrated significantly higher marked response rates and a significantly higher overall response rate vs DXM-treated patients at 7 days, 14 days, and 1 month.

At 2 months, the rhTPO + DXM group demonstrated significantly higher overall response rates compared with the DXM group.

No incidences of hypertension, fever, rash, allergy, or weakness were observed in either group. However, 1 DXM-treated patients had liver damage during week 1 of treatment.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Lu YY, Guan N, Meng QH, Li ML, Liu YY, Wang Y. Efficacy of recombinant human thrombopoietin combined with high-dose dexamethasone in the treatment of refractory immune thrombocytopenia in children. 2018;20(7):534-537. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30022753