Clinical effect of refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura treated by rituximab combined with dexamethasone in children

Objective To discuss the effect and safety of rituximab combined with dexamethasone in the treatment of children with refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(RITP).Methods Twenty-two patients were diagnosed as RITP,which were divided into control group and observation group.The patients in control group were treated with high-dose dexamethasone,and those in the observation group were treated with low-dose dexamethasone combined with rituximab.The therapeutic effects and the drug adverse effects in two groups were observed respectively.Besides,the expressions of CD20+ B cells in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry in 11 patients before and after treatment.Results The effective rates of observation group was significantly higher than those in control group(P0.05).There was no significant difference of the drug adverse effects between two groups.The platelet counts of the observation group after treatment was significantly higher than those before treatment.The expression of CD20+ B cell after treatment was significantly lower than those before treatment.Conclusion The treatment of RITP in children with rituximab combined with dexamethasone could result in better therapeutic effects and lower drug adverse effects.