How long do hormones need to be used in children treated with hormones?
After 4 days of glucocorticosteroid use for the first attack, the child’s treatment effect is observed and if the treatment is good, no further use is needed. If the child has a relapse and has been treated with propecia, the child should be treated with a full dose of hormone at 2 mg per kg of body weight for 28 days to observe the effect of treatment. If the treatment does not work after 28 days, it is necessary to change the medication.
What are the side effects of using hormones for ITP?
Side effects that can occur with heavy hormone use: diabetes, high blood pressure, full moon face, buffalo back, centripetal obesity, bone abnormalities (decalcification), and susceptibility to infection. These are complications that occur in patients with long-term use (1 to 3 months) and are rarely seen with short-term high-dose shocks.
In first-line treatment of ITP, should I use other drugs besides glucocorticoids and gammaglobulin?
Thrombopoietin and drugs that stimulate megakaryocyte receptors are also used. It has been found that patients with ITP do not produce enough platelet-producing growth factor, and if the bone marrow is stimulated by this growth factor, more platelets will be produced as a way to compensate for the immune platelet destruction.
Since ITP is a benign disease, can it be cured?
ITP can be cured in 70-80% of children. The remaining 20%, because ITP is a benign disease, can live with it and is not life-threatening. It reaches a stable state and the affected child can survive with the disease for a long time.