In adults with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), steroids are usually proposed as first-line therapy, but long-term complete responses are obtained in no more than 20% of patients. For the remaining patients, splenectomy is considered the treatment of choice, with reported "cure" rates from 60-70%. However, the inherent risks of surgery and sepsis after splenectomy without a guarantee of success justify the search for strategies aimed to avoid splenectomy. Here we retrospectively evaluated the results of dapsone treatment in ITP patients that failed first-line therapy with steroids. These patients received dapsone 100 mg/day for a minimum of 30 days before splenectomy was considered. Efficacy was defined as a sustained rise in platelet counts (>50 x 10(9)/l) clearly attributed to dapsone treatment. Among 52 steroid-dependent or refractory patients, dapsone resulted in sustained increases in platelet counts in 44.2% of patients, after a median follow-up of 21.10 months after treatment initiation. The long-term efficacy of dapsone in this setting is further corroborated by the observation that none of the "responding" patients required splenectomy in the follow-up, compared to 69.0% of the "non-responding" patients. Dapsone-related adverse events were mild and promptly reversed by treatment withdrawal. The results of our retrospective analysis suggest that dapsone is a safe and effective second-line agent for steroid-dependent or refractory ITP patients. Because of its well-known safety profile and low cost compared to other potential second-line treatments for ITP, a trial course of dapsone should be viewed as an attractive option before splenectomy in steroid-dependent of refractory adult ITP patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.