Interferon-alpha induced severe thrombocytopenia: a case report and review of the literature

Li Li1, Da-Kang Han, Jun Lu

  • 1Tumor Biotherapy Ward of Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China.

We report a case of severe thrombocytopenia following pegylated interferon-alpha 2a (Peg-IFN-alpha 2a) treatment of hepatitis C virus infection and summarize the clinical characteristics of 16 cases of IFN-alpha induced severe thrombocytopenia and its immune-mediated mechanism. Discontinuation of IFN-alpha and early administration of immunosuppressants are the effective therapy for IFN-alpha induced severe thrombocytopenia.

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