Dapsone for chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in children and adults--a report on 90 patients.
Data on 90 patients (55 adults and 35 children) with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and a platelet count of <50 x 10(9)/L treated with dapsone at a dose of 1-2 mg/kg/d are presented. A response was observed in 57 (63.3%) patients. The average time for response was 3.5 months (range 1-9) and the average duration of treatment with dapsone was 10.4 months (range 4-14). Overall response rates of 65.7% and 61.8% were observed in children and adults respectively. Side effects requiring discontinuation of therapy were observed in three (2%) patients. These results demonstrate that dapsone is an effective, inexpensive and well-tolerated treatment for chronic ITP, in both children and adults and could be considered for patients who fail steroid therapy.
Damodar
Sharat
S
Department of Haematology, Christian Medical College, Vellore-632004, Tamil Nadu, India.
Viswabandya
Auro
A
George
Biju
B
Mathews
Vikram
V
Chandy
Mammen
M
Srivastava
Alok
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003622:Dapsone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy
D003622:Dapsone