title: Short-course high-dose dexamethasone therapy for chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in children.
abstract: First-line therapies of acute and chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) include intravenous immunoglobulin, IV anti-D and corticosteroids. A short-course high-dose dexamethasone (HDD-SC) therapy has recently been reported to be efficacious in acute ITP. The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of HDD-SC in children with chronic ITP. Over a period of 10 months, 13 patients with chronic ITP were given HDD-SC (20 mg m(-2) IV daily for 4 days, four cycles repeated every 15 days). Of the 12 patients who could be evaluated, complete response was observed in 8 (66.6%) and moderate response in 2 (17%) patients, whereas 2 (17%) patients had no response. HDD-SC appears to be a safe and effective therapy in childhood ITP.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology, Department of Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi 110001, India. dineshmamc@gmail.com
authors.forename: Dinesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.forename: Jagdish
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: Sunita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Varinder
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003907:Dexamethasone