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Treatment for patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has evolved during the past decade to include anti-D, rituximab, and, most recently, thrombopoietin-receptor agonists. In the latter category, romiplostim and eltrombopag have each provided short-term increases in platelet counts, but the safety and efficacy of these agents over the long term is also important because of the chronic nature of ITP.
To assess outcomes associated with long-term eltrombopag therapy, industry-sponsored investigators conducted an interim analysis of the ongoing open-label EXTEND study involving 299 patients with chronic ITP (duration, >6 months) who had participated in earlier studies of this agent and were followed for a median of 100 weeks. The daily dose…