Abstract:

Objective To observe the efficacy of eltrombopag combined with low-dose prednisone in elderly patients with refractory and relapsed primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Methods A retrospective analysis of the treatment efficacy of 52 elderly patients (over 60 years old) with refractory and recurrent ITP was performed. The patients were assigned to receive either eltrombopag+low-dose prednisone (the eltrombopag treatment group, n=23) or prednisone+immune stimulants (the conventional treatment group, n=29). The key observation was platelet count (PLC) on day 0 and on weeks 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, bleeding risk score on day 0 and on week 2, and effective rates on weeks 4, 8, 12. Results The PLC increased in the eltrombopag treatment group on week 1, thereafter, the platelets continued to rise, and PLC on week 4 was (109.18±77.81)×10⁹/L, moreover, each cut-off point was significantly higher than the previous cut-off point ( P<0.05). The platelets increased in the conventional treatment group, and with no continuous increasing trend. The bleeding risk score of the eltrombopag treatment group and the conventional treatment group after treatment was significantly lower than that before treatment ([2.91±1.92], [3.60±2.53] vs [7.64±3.77], [6.53±3.66], [ P<0.05], respectively). The overall effective rate on weeks 8, 12 in the eltrombopag treatment group was 87% and 91.3%, respectively, which in the conventional treatment group was 55.2% and 55.2%, respectively, and with statistically significant differences between groups ( P<0.05). Conclusion For elderly patients with refractory and recurrent ITP, eltrombopag combined with low-dose prednisone has good curative effect, and is worthy of selection application.

Key words: thrombocytopenia, eltrombopag, prednisone, elderly