Lower dose of rituximab in the treatment of elderly autoimmune hemolytic anemia / 中华血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the safety and efficacy of lower dose of rituximab in the treatment of elderly autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From May 2008 to February 2013, a total of 37 patients with newly diagnosed elderly AIHA patients were enrolled in the study, including 25 cases treated with prednisone 1 mg · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹ for 4 weeks and 12 cases ineligible for glucocorticoid receiving rituximab (100 mg/week for 4 times).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 25 patients with conventional glucocorticoid, 5 cases (20.0%) were complete remission (CR), 15 cases with partial remission (PR) and 5 cases without response. The overall response rate was 80.0%. Of the 12 cases with rituximab, 8 cases (66.7%) were CR, 3 cases with PR and 1 without response. The overall response rate was 91.7%. A significantly higher CR rate was seen in lower dose of rituximab, as compared to that in conventional glucocorticoid (P=0.038).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A lower dose of rituximab, with satisfactory safety and efficacy, was better than the conventional glucocorticoid in the treatment of elderly AIHA patients.</p>