Treatment Of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura With High-Dose Dexamethasone And Sheng-Xue-Xiao-Ban Capsules

Objective: To investigate the clinical effectiveness of high-dose dexamethasone (HD) combined with Sheng-xue-xiao-ban capsules treatment in patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).Patients and methods:(1) General condition of the patients: 47 patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed or refractory ITP (24/23) admitted into QiLu Hospital from November 2004 to March 2006 were enrolled into our study, including 24 males and 23 females, median age 30 years (ranged 11—72 years). They all fulfilled the national diagnostic criteria for ITP. They had a platelet count of less than 30×10~9/L or clinically significant bleeding. Some patients with severe coronary heart disease, uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes mellitus or active infection were excluded.(2) Clinical treatment: All 47 patients were given oral dexamethasone at a dose of 40 mg per day for four consecutive days (high-dose dexamethasone, HD), and some patients with clinically bleeding were given platelet 16 units. A second HD therapy was repeated if the platelet count was less than 30 ×10~9/L two weeks after HD therapy. Then the patients were divided into three groups: group1 with no further treatment, group2 with 4 Sheng-xue-xiao-ban capsules thrice a day, and group3 with danazol 200 mg twice a day. After two months of follow-up, we evaluated the clinical effectiveness.