• Joseph H Oved, Christina S Y Lee, and James B Bussel.
• Division of Pediatric Hematology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY; Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA; Division of Pediatric Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY. Electronic address: ovedj@email.chop.edu.
• J. Pediatr. 2017 Dec 1; 191: 225-231.

ObjectivesTo assess initial and long-term outcome of children with persistent/chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) treated with 4 infusions of rituximab and three 4-day cycles of dexamethasone (4R+3Dex) including cohorts with most benefit and/or treatment associated toxicity.Study DesignAll pediatric patients with ITP at Weill-Cornell who received 4R+3Dex were included in this retrospective study. Duration was median time from first rituximab infusion to treatment failure. Patient cohort included 33 children ages 1-18 years with persistent/chronic ITP; 19 were female, 10 of whom were adolescents. Every patient had failed more than 1 and usually several ITP treatments.ResultsChildren were treated with rituximab, 375 mg/m2 weekly for 4 weeks and three 4-day courses of dexamethasone 28 mg/m2 (40 mg max). Average age of nonresponders was 7.75 years, and initial responders averaged 12.7 years (P = .0073); 30% maintained continuing response at 60 months or last check-up. Eight of the 10 patients who underwent remission were female with ITP <24 months prior to initiating 4R+3Dex. All responding male patients except 2 relapsed.ConclusionsDurable unmaintained ITP remission after 4R+3Dex was seen almost exclusively in female adolescents with <24 months duration of ITP. This provides a new therapeutic paradigm for a subpopulation with hard-to-treat chronic ITP. The pathophysiology of ITP underlying this distinction requires further elucidation.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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