{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03412553321145643, 'fraction_numerical': 0.019500304692260818, 'mean_word_length': 4.992700729927007, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
INTERFERON ALPHA‐2b THERAPY IN REFRACTORY ADULT CHRONIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA

Short-course therapy with recombinant interferon alpha-2b (rIFN-alpha-2b) has recently been shown to be effective in some cases of chronic idiopathic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (Proctor et al, 1988. 1989). We have tried this treatment in three patients with long-lasting, clearly refractory ITP. All three patients were refractory to steroids, splenectomy, slow infusions of vinblastine. azathioprine and variable additional treatments (Table I). Severe cutaneous and mucosal bleeding was present in all three patients who had major thrombocytopenia. Patients received 3 MU of rIFN-alpha-2b (Intron A Schering Unicet) given subcutaneously three times a week for 4 weeks. No other drug was used during rIFN-alpha-2b treatment, which was well tolerated. Neither platelet count nor bleeding manifestations improved with rIFN-alpha-2b. This lack of response was also observed after completion of the rIFN-alpha-2b course as it has been reported that delayed response can occur (Proctor et al. 1989). Although our number of patients is small, we feel as others (Bellucci et al, 1989: Hurtado et al, 1990) that rIFNalpha-2b was of no benefit in our patients. In fact, in the report of Proctor et al. patients with good response had received less conventional therapy and sometimes only steroids. This is in contrast with our patients and the patients of Hurtado et a1 who failed to respond to almost all conventional therapeutic approaches of chronic ITP and therefore represent a very poor prognosis population with infrequent response to rIFN-alpha-2b.