Can children take avatrombopag (Avatrombopag, Sucoxin)?

Avatrombopag/Avatrombopag is a new thrombopoietin receptor agonist that has gained recognition in the second-line treatment of adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in recent years. Although its use in adults has been extensively validated, its use in pediatric patients remains exploratory. There are relatively few studies on the safety and effectiveness of avatrombopag in children. However, a recent multicenter, retrospective observational study has provided important clinical data in this area.

The study was conducted primarily on children with persistent or chronicITP, ranging in age from 1.9 to 15.3 years old. These children were unresponsive or relapsed to other treatments and had been on treatment for at least 12 weeks before receiving avatrombopag. The study results showed that within 4 weeks of treatment, 79.4% of patients achieved complete remission (OR), and 67.7% of patients achieved the criteria of complete platelet count ≥100*10^9/L and no bleeding (CR). Among them, the median response time was 7 days, indicating that avatrombopag can quickly increase platelet counts, and the patient's response rate remained at a high level during follow-up at 12 and 24 weeks.

In this study, patients' bleeding was also recorded. Before treatment, the proportion of patients with grade 1-3 bleeding was 52.95%, and during follow-up after 12 weeks, this proportion dropped significantly to 2.94%. This suggests that avatrombopag treatment not only increases platelet counts but also effectively controls bleeding events. In addition, the proportion of patients involved in the study who were combined with other ITP treatment drugs also decreased significantly during treatment with avatropopag, from 36.47% at baseline to 8.82% at 12 weeks, indicating that use of avatropopag alone can effectively reduce dependence on other treatments.

In summary, avatrombopag has demonstrated good safety and efficacy as a second-line treatment option for childrenITP. The study results showed that the drug quickly and sustainably improved platelet counts, significantly reduced the risk of bleeding and reduced the need for other treatments. While the current data provide a positive outlook, further large-scale clinical trials are needed to more fully assess its long-term safety and efficacy in children.

Reference materials:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38362793/