Treatment of 5 dogs with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia using Romiplostim

Abstract

BackgroundImmune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in dogs is analogous to that in humans. Romiplostim, a novel thrombopoietin receptor (TPO-R) agonist, is currently used for the treatment of refractory ITP in humans, but not in dogs. Here, we describe the response to romiplostim in five dogs with refractory ITP. Five dogs with severe and refractory ITP (three primary and two secondary) received romiplostim subcutaneously. Four dogs were administered 3–5 μg/kg and one dog received 10–13 μg/kg body weight once weekly.ResultsRomiplostim was well-tolerated and administration was associated with an increase in platelet counts in all five dogs. Four of the five dogs entered remission and relapses were not observed over a follow-up period of 3–10 months.ConclusionsRomiplostim is effective in the treatment of ITP in dogs at least as well as in humans. This finding may help to develop and use new therapeutics for ITP in dogs and humans.

Erratum to: treatment of 5 dogs with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia using romiplostim

“…The errors and associated corrections described in this document concerning the original manuscript were accountable to the production department handling this manuscript, and thus are no fault of the authors of this paper. Additionally, the online manuscript has now been updated with these corrections accordingly.The original version of the manuscript [1] contained incorrectly formatted data in Table 2, rendering the numerical data in the sub-columns “Day” and “Platelets Count” nonsensical. The formatting of Table 2 has now been adjusted to display the appropriate numerical values in each cell more accurately.…”

“…The original version of the manuscript [1] contained incorrectly formatted data in Table 2, rendering the numerical data in the sub-columns “Day” and “Platelets Count” nonsensical. The formatting of Table 2 has now been adjusted to display the appropriate numerical values in each cell more accurately.…”

“Acute onset tetraplegia associated with immune‐mediated thrombocytopenia and suspected secondary intraspinal hemorrhage in a dog”

“…The mainstay of treatment for ITP is immunosuppression, and standard of care in both humans and animals involves glucocorticoids. However, only approximately two‐thirds of human patients achieve a complete or partial response with corticosteroids alone, and a high proportion of patients relapse or require alternative therapies due to the adverse side effects of steroids . Adjunctive immunomodulatory medications include cyclosporine, azathioprine, mycophenolate, and leflunomide .…”

“…The use of VINC or IVIG in addition to prednisone has been shown to shorten the time to platelet count recovery when compared to treatment with prednisone alone, in dogs with ITP . More recently, thrombopoietin receptor (TPO‐R) agonists have been investigated in dogs with refractory and severe ITP, with favorable results …”

“…However, only approximately two-thirds of human patients achieve a complete or partial response with corticosteroids alone, and a high proportion of patients relapse or require alternative therapies due to the adverse side effects of steroids. 4 Adjunctive immunomodulatory medications include cyclosporine, azathioprine, mycophenolate, and leflunomide. 2 Survival rates of 94% and 90% have been reported in dogs treated with cyclosporine and mycophenalate, respectively, in addition to glucocorticoid therapy.…”