Pediatric immune thrombocytopenia: a focus on eltrombopag as second-line therapy

Background Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is the most common acquired bleeding disorder. In both children and adults, the primary goal of any therapeutic approach consists of cessation of bleeding and its prevention. Several options are currently available for first-line therapy in Europe, including corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) infusion, which has a similar efficacy and safety profile in both the pediatric and adult populations. When second-line therapy is needed in the pediatric setting, current guidelines recommend eltrombopag as the drug of choice. Procedure The aim of this article is to summarize the available evidence and present real-life experience on eltrombopag as second-line therapy in pediatric patients with ITP, with a focus on dosing and response to therapy as well as its tapering and discontinuation. Results In our setting, eltrombopag is associated with good safety profile as well as promising efficacy; dose de-escalation was feasible in 94% of cases and often reached very low pro/kg dosage, with full discontinuation in 15% of cases. In daily practice, a standardized approach for discontinuation of eltrombopag in pediatric patients with ITP is still lacking. Herein, an easy-to-use scheme for tapering and discontinuation in candidate pediatric patients is proposed that proposes 25% dose reduction every four weeks. Conclusions In future management of pediatric ITP patients, it will be crucial to assess if thrombopoietin receptor agonists might be more effective in earlier phases of the disease and can modify the course of the disease.