Onyalai--therapeutic effects of vincristine sulphate. A prospective randomized trial

Twenty out of 40 patients with onyalai admitted to Rundu State Hospital, Kavango, SWA/Namibia, were randomized to receive a vincristine sulphate bolus of 1.5 mg/m2 or an equivalent volume of normal saline intravenously on days 8 and 15 when haemorrhage or a platelet count of less than 50 X 10(9)/l persisted for more than 1 week after admission. All patients were observed in hospital for at least 21 days. Five out of 10 patients who received vincristine achieved a platelet count in excess of 100 X 10(9)/l on day 21 and only 2 out of 10 patients who received placebo achieved a similar rise in the platelet count. Two patients, neither of whom was treated with vincristine, died of cerebral haemorrhage.