Late and Long-lasting Response in an Adult Chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura after Extended Course of Rituximab.

This article reports the response of rituximab treatment in adults with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Using the classical schedule of rituximab administration authors found that about half of patients experienced a long-lasting complete or partial response. In addition, they described two main pattern of response to rituximab. The first one with a rise of the platelet count occurring early, usually after the first antibody administration. To perform surgical ablation of breast nodule, treatment with intravenous Immunoglobulins was started with a platelet rise to 66,000/ml. An increase of platelet count was observed after the first administration of rituximab, followed by reduction to pre-treatment value.