Eltrombopag Use for Treatment of Thrombocytopenia in a Patient with Chronic Liver Disease and Portal Vein Thrombosis: Case Report
Off-label drug use refers to drug use beyond the specifications authorized for marketing [J Med Case Rep. 2014 Dec;8(1):303]. Eltrombopag is a thrombopoietin receptor agonist that has been used in treating thrombocytopenia due to chronic liver disease (CLD) as an off-label medication. Treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with CLD constitute a real dilemma as the options are limited and some of them are invasive. However, thrombopoietin receptor agonist has been increasingly used for this purpose. Here we report a 34-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with CLD due to autoimmune hepatitis 20 years ago. Her condition was complicated with portal vein thrombosis, chronic thrombocytopenia, and variceal hemorrhage, and she has been listed as a candidate for liver transplantation. Given her high risk of bleeding, we started her on low dose of eltrombopag (25 mg daily) in order to maintain a platelet level of ≥50 × 103/µL. However, 1 year after initiation of the therapy, she developed left lower limb deep vein thrombosis.
Other Information
Published in: Case Reports in Oncology
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000507987
Funding
Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.
History
Language
- English
Publisher
KargerPublication Year
- 2020
License statement
This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International LicenseInstitution affiliated with
- Hamad Medical Corporation
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research - HMC