title: Treatment of a patient with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura with rituximab and monitoring by flow cytometric analysis.
abstract: Treatment modalities of patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) include the administration of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), corticosteroids, anti-D(Rh) immunoglobulin (anti-D), and splenectomy. Approximately 25-30% of patients with chronic ITP do not respond to established therapeutic regimens. We describe a 19-year-old patient with chronic ITP refractory to standard therapies treated with rituximab (anti-CD20 antibody). Initially, the therapy with rituximab appeared to be successful; however, the patient relapsed after a surveillance of 57 weeks documenting that the rituximab therapy has failed. Flow cytometric analyses during and after the administration of rituximab revealed new aspects of monitoring rituximab therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Transfusion Medicine, University Jena, Jena, Germany. Hansjoerg.Thude@med.uni-jena.de
authors.forename: Hansjörg
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thude
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gruhn
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schorner
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Häfer
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zintl
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D010976:Platelet Count; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012008:Recurrence; D000069283:Rituximab; D017211:Treatment Failure
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000069283:Rituximab