Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune bleeding disorder with low platelet count. As the first choice of the second-line treatment of ITP, thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) enable long-term remission in 50% to 60% of cases. However, about half of patients have no response or loss of response to eltrombopag due to unknown reasons, which can't be effectively improved by increasing the drug dose. Diacerein is an anthraquinone derivative used to treat joint diseases such as osteoarthritis. We speculate that the addition of diacerein to eltrombopag may offer sensitizer effect and maximize efficacy, which warrants further prospective studies to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy as salvage strategy in ameliorating immune thrombocytopenia.
In this multicentre, open-label, randomized controlled trial, 98 eltrombopag-inefficient or relapsed ITP patients will be enrolled from five tertiary medical centres in China. Participants will be randomly assigned into the combination group (eltrombopag orally at initial dose of 75 mg daily for 14 days, plus diacerein orally at initial dose of 50 mg bid for 14 days) or the monotherapy group (eltrombopag orally at initial dose of 75 mg daily for 14 days) by masked statisticians in a 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoints are initial response at D15 without any additional ITP-specific intervention. The secondary outcomes include response at D28, time to response, duration of response, bleeding score, health-related quality of life assessment, and safety issue. This study will compare the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag-diacerein with eltrombopag monotherapy in adults with primary immune thrombocytopenia. We hypothesized that the novel combination of eltrombopag and diacerein might extend eltrombopag efficacy and avoid rapid alteration to less-preferable therapies, especially in the management of the patient refractory to eltrombopag.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
102
In the combination group, eltrombopag will be administered orally at an initial dose of 75mg daily for 14 days, and diacerein will be given orally at an initial dose of 50mg bid concomitantly for 14 days (D1-D14). During treatment period, treating physicians will modify the dosage of trial treatment to maintain participants' platelet count at the range of 50 - 150 × 10\^9/L as follows: (1) if platelet count is less than 150 × 10\^9/L, continue the original treatment (eltrombopag 75mg daily plus diacerein 50mg bid); (2) if platelet count is between 150 × 10\^9/L to 250 × 10\^9/L, the treatment will be modified to eltrombopag 50mg daily plus diacerein 50mg bid; (3) if platelet count is over 250 × 10\^9/L, original treatment (both eltrombopag and diacerein) need to be stopped, and platelet count should be reexamined every other day, and the treatment (eltrombopag 50mg daily plus diacerein 50mg bid ) will be restarted until platelet count is below 100 × 10\^9/L.
In the monotherapy group, eltrombopag also will be administered orally at an initial dose of 75mg daily for 14 days (D1-D14), and the individualized dosage could be modified by treating physicians to maintain participants' platelet count between 50 × 10\^9/L to 150 × 10\^9/L.
Qilu hospital, Shandong University
Jinan, Shandong, China
Initial response at Day 15
The primary outcomes of this trial are initial responses at Day 15 without any additional ITP-specific intervention. Complete response was defined as a platelet count at or above 100 × 10⁹ cells per L and an absence of bleeding. Partial response was defined as a platelet count at or above 30 × 10⁹ cells per L but less than 100 × 10⁹ cells per L and at least a doubling of the baseline platelet count and an absence of bleeding. No response was defined as a platelet count of less than 30 × 10⁹ cells per L, or less than two-times increase from baseline platelet count, or bleeding.
Time frame: Day 15
Response at Day 28
Responses were assessed at day 28. Complete response was defined as a platelet count at or above 100 × 10⁹ cells per L and an absence of bleeding. Partial response was defined as a platelet count at or above 30 × 10⁹ cells per L but less than 100 × 10⁹ cells per L and at least a doubling of the baseline platelet count and an absence of bleeding. No response was defined as a platelet count of less than 30 × 10⁹ cells per L, or less than two-times increase from baseline platelet count, or bleeding.
Time frame: Day 28
Time to response
Time to response was defined as the time from treatment initiation to achieve a complete response or a partial response, whichever came first, assessed up to day 28.
Time frame: 28 days
Duration of response
Duration of response was defined as the time from achievement of a complete response or a partial response to the loss of response (platelet count \<30 × 10⁹ cells per L; measured on two occasions more than 1 day apart or the presence of bleeding).
Time frame: 12 months
Bleeding scores
Bleeding symptoms were graded according a standardized bleeding scale specific to primary immune thrombocytopenia on the basis of site and severity of bleeding by Khellaf et al (PMID: 15951296). A modification was made to exclude age from the original scale so that only bleeding symptoms were described. At each visit, we recorded bleeding scores. Routine visits were scheduled once a week for the first 4 weeks and once a month thereafter. Scores ranged from 0 to 59, with higher values indicating higher bleeding risk.
Time frame: 12 months
Health-related quality of life assessment
Health-related quality of life was assessed using a self-administered immune thrombocytopenia Patient Assessment Questionnaire (ITP-PAQ) at baseline and at week 12. Scores ranged from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating better quality of life.
Time frame: 12 weeks
The number of participants with Adverse events
Adverse events were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (version 4.0). At each visit, we recorded adverse events. Routine visits were scheduled once a week for the first 4 weeks and once a month thereafter.
Time frame: 12 months
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