title: Dapsone for chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in children and adults--a report on 90 patients.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, Christian Medical College, Vellore-632004, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Sharat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Damodar
authors.forename: Auro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viswabandya
authors.forename: Biju
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.forename: Mammen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chandy
authors.forename: Alok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Srivastava
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D003622:Dapsone