title: Tolerability and Efficacy of Eltrombopag in Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Eltrombopag is an oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist that stimulates the production of normally functioning platelets. The aim of this meta-analysis is to synthesize evidence about the safety and efficacy of eltrombopag for both adult and children with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).
  
  
  METHODS
  A computer literature search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central was conducted. Records were screened for eligible studies, and data were extracted and synthesized using Review Manager for Windows. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were conducted to investigate whether treatment effect varies significantly between adults and children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six randomized controlled trials (N = 611 patients) were included in the final analysis. The overall effect estimates favored eltrombopag group in terms of overall platelet response (relative risk [RR]: 3.42; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.51-4.65; P < .0001), incidence of significant bleeding (RR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.41-0.77; P = .0004), and number of cases needed to rescue treatment (RR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.32-0.65; P < .0001). The efficacy of eltrombopag did not differ significantly between children and adults except for incidence of any bleeding (RR: 0.83 vs 0.51; P = .008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Eltrombopag is a tolerable and effective drug for the management of chronic ITP in children and adults.
authors: 1 Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.|2 Medical Research Group of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Ahmed Saber
authors: AS
authors: Elgebaly
authors: 2 Medical Research Group of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.|3 Kasr Al Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.
authors: Gehad El
authors: GE
authors: Ashal
authors: 2 Medical Research Group of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.|4 Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors: Mohamed
authors: M
authors: Elfil
authors: 1 Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.|2 Medical Research Group of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Ahmed
authors: A
authors: Menshawy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001565:Benzoates / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006834:Hydrazines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010976:Platelet Count; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D001565:Benzoates; D006834:Hydrazines; D011720:Pyrazoles; C520809:eltrombopag
keywords: efficacy; eltrombopag; immune thrombocytopenia; thrombopoietin agonists