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Real-life management of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in adult patients and adherence to practice guidelines

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Abstract

Very few data exist on the management of adult patients diagnosed with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The objectives of this study were to describe the diagnostic and treatment patterns for ITP and to compare the findings to recent ITP guidelines. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of adult ITP patients diagnosed with primary ITP between January 2011 and June 2012 and examined whether management strategies were consistent or not with eight recent guideline-recommended practices. Overall, median age at the diagnosis of the disease (n = 101) was 58 years and median platelet count 12 × 109/L with 75.2 % of patients having symptoms of ITP. The study perceived two major shortcomings in the diagnostic approach: (1) failure to perform peripheral blood film examination in 22.8 % of patients, a test that is mandatory by all guidelines, and (2) ordinary bone marrow assessment in more than half of the patients at diagnosis (50.5 %), a test not routinely recommended by guidelines. Low appropriateness in therapeutic management of patients included (1) unjustified use of intravenous immunoglobulin in the absence of bleeding in 54.8 % of patients and (2) splenectomy not being deferred until 6–12 months from diagnosis (median 161 days). Data also reflect a trend towards the early use of thrombopoietin receptor agonists in the treatment of patients who are refractory to any first-line therapy. We have recognized important areas of inapropriateness in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of adult ITP patients. Compliance with established guidelines should be encouraged in order to improve patient outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Amgen S.A. Spain. Amgen did not have any role in study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, writing the report, or in the decision to submit the report for publication. The authors thank Juan Luis Sanz (APICES, Madrid, Spain) for his contribution in the data management and statistical analysis of this study and for critically reviewing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Morales Meseguer, IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain

    María Luisa Lozano, N. Revilla & V. Vicente

  2. Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain

    N. Revilla

  3. Hospital General de Burgos, Burgos, Spain

    T. J. Gonzalez-Lopez

  4. Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain

    S. Novelli

  5. Hospital de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    J. R. González-Porras

  6. Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain

    B. Sánchez-Gonzalez

  7. Hospital de San Pedro de Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain

    N. Bermejo

  8. Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago, Santiago, Spain

    S. Pérez

  9. Hospital General de Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    F. J. Lucas

  10. Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain

    M. T. Álvarez

  11. Hospital de Sagunto, Valencia, Spain

    M. J. Arilla

  12. Hospital Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, Gran Canaria, Spain

    M. Perera

  13. Hospital General de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain

    J. do Nascimento

  14. Hospital de Jerez, Jerez, Spain

    R. M. Campos

  15. Hospital Virgen de la Salud, Toledo, Spain

    L. F. Casado

Authors
  1. María Luisa Lozano
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  2. N. Revilla
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  3. T. J. Gonzalez-Lopez
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  4. S. Novelli
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  5. J. R. González-Porras
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  6. B. Sánchez-Gonzalez
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  7. N. Bermejo
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  8. S. Pérez
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  9. F. J. Lucas
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  10. M. T. Álvarez
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  11. M. J. Arilla
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  12. M. Perera
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  13. J. do Nascimento
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  14. R. M. Campos
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  15. L. F. Casado
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  16. V. Vicente
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Correspondence to María Luisa Lozano.

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Lozano, M.L., Revilla, N., Gonzalez-Lopez, T.J. et al. Real-life management of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in adult patients and adherence to practice guidelines. Ann Hematol 95, 1089–1098 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2665-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2665-3

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