Eltrombopag in pediatric chronic and refractory ITP: data from a retrospective multicenter study from Lebanon

Splenic Embolization for Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Complicated With Intracranial Hemorrhage-Case Report of 2 Patients

This case report describes the management of 2 pediatric patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) complicated by intracranial hemorrhage. Case 1 involves a 16-year-old who was found to have an acute intracerebral bleed. Partial splenic embolization was performed, which led to improved platelet count and clinical stability. Case 2 details an 8-year-old presenting with a large frontal hematoma with clinical and radiologic signs of herniation. Following complete splenic embolization, his platelet levels rose sufficiently to undergo a successful craniectomy. These cases emphasize the potential role of splenic embolization as an innovative intervention in cases of pediatric ITP with life-threatening bleeding.

Stepwise response-guided treatment protocol superior to thrombopoietin receptor agonist-based second-line therapy for severe persistent/chronic immune thrombocytopenia: a multicenter prospective study from China

Background

The first second-line international recommendation for children with severe persistent/chronic immune thrombocytopenia is thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA)-based treatment; however, <30% can achieve sustained response off-treatment (SRoT), leading to a heavy medical burden.

Objectives

This study aimed to confirm the efficacy of the stepwise response-guided treatment protocol compared with TPO-RA-based second-line therapy for children with severe P/CITP.

Methods

The stepwise response-guided treatment protocol is an individualized stratified immune thrombocytopenia treatment starting with high-dose dexamethasone, then adding rituximab and TPO-RAs in sequential order according to treatment response. A prospective, multicenter clinical cohort study enrolled severe P/CITP children with a 1-year follow-up. We compared the treatment outcome response of platelet count, bleeding control, and treatment-related side effects and cost outcomes (escalation status, SRoT, and treatment costs) between the stepwise group and the TPO-RA-based second-line treatment group (TPO-RA group).

Results

The study enrolled 143 cases of severe P/CITP children with a 12-month follow-up period. There were no differences in baseline characteristics between the stepwise and TPO-RA groups (P > .05). Response/remission rates and bleeding grades showed no differences (P > .05), but there were fewer side effects related to treatment in the stepwise group (9.0%; P < .00). A total of 74% in the stepwise group achieved SRoT while none in the TPO-RA group did. The cost of treatment was significantly lower in the stepwise group compared with the TPO-RA group over the 12-month follow-up period (USD 68.26/kg vs USD 384.76/kg, P < .00).

Conclusion

The stepwise response-guided treatment protocol effectively stratifies children with severe P/CITP based on treatment response, enabling individualized treatment strategies. This protocol achieves comparable efficacy and safety while reducing the treatment burden compared with TPO-RA-based second-line therapy, making it a preferable option for children with severe P/CITP.

Update on the Use of Thrombopoietin-Receptor Agonists in Pediatrics

This review summarizes the rationale and current data on the use of thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) for treating severe thrombocytopenia in infants, children, and adolescents. It focuses on substances that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for pediatric patients. Romiplostim and eltrombopag are already established as second-line treatment for persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). As in adults, TPO-RAs are currently also evaluated in severe aplastic anemia (SAA), chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and poor engraftment after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric and adolescent patients. Moreover, studies on the implication of TPO-RA in treating rare inherited thrombocytopenias, such as Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT), or MYH9-associated thrombocytopenia, deserve future attention. Current developments include testing of avatrombopag and lusutrombopag that are approved for the treatment of thrombocytopenia associated with chronic liver disease (CLD) in adult patients. In pediatric and adolescent medicine, we expect in the near future a broader use of TPO-RAs as first-line treatment in primary ITP, thereby considering immunomodulatory effects that increase the rate of sustained remission off-treatment, and a selective use in rare inherited thrombocytopenias based on current clinical trials.

Identifying health research in the era of COVID-19: A scoping review

Background

Health improvements are considered one of the most important fields of research. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 was declared a pandemic, it might have impacted clinical and public health research in various forms.

Objectives

The goal of this study is to explore health research approaches in the era of coronavirus disease 2019.

Methods

In this scoping review, we reviewed published medical full-text studies and identified potential areas of interest of health research in the era the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic during the last 3 years within a higher educational setting. A bibliometric analysis was used to compare among published works.

Results

Among the 93 studies that met the inclusion criteria, most focused on mental health (n = 23; 24.7%). Twenty-one publications targeted coronavirus disease 2019 and its consequences on general health. Other studies have described hemato-oncological, cardiovascular, respiratory, and endocrinological diseases. 42 studies were cross-sectional or cohort studies and most of them published in Q1 journals. Almost half of them belonged to the Faculty of Medicine (49.5%) followed by the School of Arts, Sciences, and Psychology (26.9%).

Conclusions

Health research has been demonstrated to be important, at all times, especially during crises. Therefore, researchers need to invest more efforts into seeking new medical updates in various health-related fields, regardless of their correlation with coronavirus disease 2019.

Sustained response off treatment in eltrombopag for children with persistent/chronic primary immune thrombocytopenia: A multicentre observational retrospective study in China

Eltrombopag (ELT) is effective and safe in adult persistent/chronic immune thrombocytopenia (p/cITP); a proportion could achieve a sustained response off treatment (SRoT); however, data on children are lacking. We attempted to analyse SRoT of ELT in children with p/cITP in this study. A multicentre retrospective observational study was performed in November 2022 for children with p/cITP who used ELT alone for >2 months between January 2017 and November 2021. Clinical data of pre-, during and post-ELT were collected. SRoT was defined as maintaining a platelet count of ≥30 × 10⁹ /L without rescue therapy for at least 6 months off ELT. There were 143 patients enrolled; 69.2% (99/143) achieved an overall response of 43.3% and 25.9% achieved complete response (CR) and response (R). Among the 35 patients analysed from whom ELT was withdrawn, 71.4% (25/35) showed SRoT after discontinuing ELT without additional ITP therapy, with a median follow-up of 0.94 (range, 0.53-3.8) years, equal to 17.5% (25/143) in all patients treated with ELT. Compared with the patients with relapse (n = 10), the SRoT patients (n = 25) had a higher rate of CR (80% [20/25] vs. 40% [4/10]), shorter interval time from initiation to taper (6.4 months vs. 9.4 months), longer time from taper to withdrawal (1.1 years vs. 0.3 years) and a longer duration of ELT treatment (1.6 years vs. 0.5 years) with p < 0.05. Patients who achieved CR could attain SRoT more easily (p = 0.02). ELT had a response in 69.2% of children with p/cITP and 17.5% of them attained SRoT with good tolerance. The patients who achieved CR and began ELT treatment as early as possible, with a longer treatment duration and slower tapering, had a higher probability of SRoT.