Successful early romiplostim use in a case of severe immune thrombocytopenia with critical carotid arterial injury.

ABSTRACT

Thrombopoietin receptor (TPO-R) agonists have been shown to be effective in refractory chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP); however, their efficacy in patients under critical care is not known. We report the case of a female patient with a newly diagnosed ITP who experienced severe bleeding from an external wound. The patient was administered the standard treatments for ITP, which are high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and corticosteroids. However, following failure of these treatments, we administered romiplostim on day 6 after the onset of ITP. On day 6 after the initiation of romiplostim, there was improvement in platelet count and bleeding tendency. We were subsequently able to perform a splenectomy successfully. The efficacy of TPO-R agonists in ITP has been reported in several situations, including before surgery in an ITP patient; however, the use of TPO-R for arterial bleeding with shock has not been reported. To our knowledge, the present article is a rare case report of the use of a TPO-R agonist in a patient with critical artery injury. Our data suggest that the early use of romiplostim is effective in emergency cases of newly diagnosed ITP with life-threatening bleeding, which is refractory to standard treatment.