Anti-D and intravenous immunoglobulin treatments in chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the data from 29 patients diagnosed as chronic refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) treated with anti-D immunoglobulin and intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG). We used anti-D and IVIG in 11 and 18 patients respectively in whom the previous treatments including corticosteroids and splenectomy had been unsuccessful. The complete response rates were significantly higher in IVIG arm (55.5% to 18.1%) with a duration of 8 weeks. The overall efficacy of IVIG in the chronic ITP is similar to previous data, however we found lower platelet responses in patients treated with anti-D that can be attributed to the lower sucess in the splenectomized patients