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Eltrombopag restores erythropoiesis in refractory adult acquired pure red cell aplasia

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Abstract

Acquired pure red cell aplasia is a rare condition characterized by normocytic normochromic anemia with severe reticulocytopenia. In refractory acquired pure red cell aplasia, the low response rate of immunosuppressive therapy also constitutes a challenge. We herein report the case of a 58-year-old male with refractory acquired pure red cell aplasia that was successfully treated by eltrombopag at a dose of 75 mg/day. After application of eltrombopag, the patient achieved complete remission and tolerated the treatment very well, with only mild bilirubin elevation. These preliminary findings showed that eltrombopag may be effective and well tolerated in adult patients with refractory acquired pure red cell aplasia.

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Funding

This study was supported by State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Specialty (No.201407001-4), National Public Health Grand Research Foundation (No.201202017), Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institute (No. JX10231801), and Project Funded by Jiangsu Provincial Special Program of Medical Science (No. BL2014086).

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All authors have made substantial intellectual contributions to this study. Guangsheng He performed study design and was involved in manuscript drafting and revision. Xiaoqing Liu collected and analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. Lang Cheng, Yao He and Run Zhang collected and interpreted the data and helped write the manuscript. Ruinan Lu, Jianfu Zhang, Ming Hong and Jianyong Li revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Guangsheng He.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest.

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Liu, X., Cheng, L., He, Y. et al. Eltrombopag restores erythropoiesis in refractory adult acquired pure red cell aplasia. Int J Hematol 114, 124–128 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-021-03100-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-021-03100-2

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