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ITP DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT
There’s no specific way to test for ITP—it’s a “diagnosis of exclusion.” First, your doctor will try to rule out other possible causes of low platelets, like an underlying illness you may have or any medication you may be taking. If no other cause is found, your doctor may diagnose you with ITP. Curious what types of test your doctor might run?
How is ITP treated in adults?
Steroids are normally the first step in treatment, but they can have unwanted side effects, like an increased risk of infections, diabetes, and cataracts.
That is one of the reasons the current American Society of Hematology (ASH) guidelines recommend limiting steroid treatment up to 6 weeks.
If steroids aren’t working well enough after 6 weeks, or if your first couple of treatments were unsuccessful, your doctor may consider trying immunosuppressants, spleen removal surgery (splenectomy), or a treatment that can help increase your platelet count like Doptelet.
By the way, immunosuppressants are a type of medication used to dampen your body’s immune response.
However, Doptelet isn’t a steroid and doesn’t suppress your immune system—it’s a thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA).
A TPO-RA is a medication that mimics your body’s natural process of creating platelets. It boosts the pathway responsible for making platelets, which adds to the platelets your body is already making. This ultimately increases your platelet count.
Unlike other TPO-RAs, Doptelet doesn’t require weekly doctor appointments for treatment injections or restrict you from your favorite foods, like ice cream.
On Doptelet, work with your doctor to determine a dosing schedule that works best for you and you can take it no matter where you are. Just be sure to take it with food and at the same time each day.
Before starting Doptelet, you’ll want to tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions, like if you’ve ever had a blood clot, are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant.
Tammy’s Tips: A Doctor’s Guide to Exploring Treatment Options
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Hear a real doctor, Dr Van Doren, and a real patient, Tammy,
discuss treatment options for chronic ITP.
Dr Van Doren is not Tammy’s doctor.
playing: false
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT QUESTIONS
Wondering what types of tests your doctor will run? Here are a few common ones:
- Complete blood count (CBC): your doctor will draw a sample of blood and use it to measure your number of blood cells, including your platelet counts
- Blood smear: your doctor will smear a thin layer of your blood—normally taken as part of or along with a CBC—onto a glass slide and look at it under a microscope to find out more about the number and shape of your blood cells
- Bone marrow exam: if the other blood tests show that your platelet count is low, your doctor may want to collect a sample of your bone marrow (they’ll numb the area beforehand) to make sure it’s making enough platelets
Your body has a natural signal—a hormone called “thrombopoietin” (TPO)—that tells it to make enough platelets for you. TPO-RA medications bind to and activate the thrombopoietin receptor, which helps stimulate the production of platelets in the body. When your body isn’t producing enough natural TPO to make the platelets you need, your doctor may prescribe a TPO-RA to help lift your platelet count.
Low platelet counts that last less than 3 months are considered “newly diagnosed” ITP. If they last for more than a year, it’s called “chronic” or long-term ITP. Newly diagnosed ITP is more common in children, while chronic ITP mostly affects young adult women.
If you experience low platelet counts that last between 3-12 months, it’s called “persistent ITP.”
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Considering Doptelet for your chronic ITP treatment?
Learn more about Doptelet versus other treatment options.
CONSIDERING DOPTELET?
Learn more about Doptelet and how it works
Discover how Doptelet might help lift your platelet counts and meet your treatment needs for chronic ITP.
ABOUT DOPTELETINDICATION & IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
What is DOPTELET (avatrombopag)?
DOPTELET is a prescription medicine used to help treat low blood platelet counts in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) when other treatments have not worked well enough. It is not known if DOPTELET is safe or works in children.
Who should not receive DOPTELET?
You should not receive DOPTELET if you have ever had a blood clot, are pregnant, plan to become pregnant or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if DOPTELET passes into breast milk or if DOPTELET may have unintended side effects for your unborn baby. Do not breastfeed during your treatment with DOPTELET and for at least 2 weeks after the last dose.
- You Should Know:
- Signs and symptoms of a blood clot could include:
- Swelling, pain, or tenderness in your legs
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Fast heartbeat
- Stomach pain or tenderness
- Signs and symptoms of a blood clot could include:
You should call your healthcare provider or get medical help right away if you have any of the signs or symptoms of a blood clot after getting DOPTELET. They can be life threatening or cause death.
Before taking DOPTELET, you should tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions and medicines including vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies.
What are the possible side effects of DOPTELET?
For patients with chronic ITP, the most common side effects are headache, fatigue, bruising, nosebleeds, upper respiratory tract infection, joint pain, bleeding gums, purple or red spots on your skin (petechiae), and runny nose.
You Should Know: These are not all of the possible side effects for DOPTELET. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or review the Prescribing Information at https://www.doptelet.com/doptelet.pdf.
If you suspect that you have experienced a side effect, call your healthcare provider. You may also report them to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 1-800-FDA-1088.
For further information, please see full Prescribing Information, including the Patient Information Leaflet.
What is DOPTELET® (avatrombopag)?
DOPTELET is a prescription medicine used to help treat low blood platelet counts in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) when other treatments have not worked well enough. It is not known if DOPTELET is safe or works in children.
Who should not receive DOPTELET?
You should not receive DOPTELET if you have ever had a blood clot, are pregnant, plan to become pregnant or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if DOPTELET
What is DOPTELET (avatrombopag)?
DOPTELET is a prescription medicine used to help treat low blood platelet counts in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) when other treatments have not worked well enough. It is not known if DOPTELET is safe or works in children.
Who should not receive DOPTELET?
You should not receive DOPTELET if you have ever had a blood clot, are pregnant, plan to become pregnant or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if DOPTELET passes into breast milk or if DOPTELET may have unintended side effects for your unborn baby. Do not breastfeed during your treatment with DOPTELET and for at least 2 weeks after the last dose.
- You Should Know:
- Signs and symptoms of a blood clot could include:
- Swelling, pain, or tenderness in your legs
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Fast heartbeat
- Stomach pain or tenderness
- Signs and symptoms of a blood clot could include:
You should call your healthcare provider or get medical help right away if you have any of the signs or symptoms of a blood clot after getting DOPTELET. They can be life threatening or cause death.
Before taking DOPTELET, you should tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions and medicines including vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies.
What are the possible side effects of DOPTELET?
For patients with chronic ITP, the most common side effects are headache, fatigue, bruising, nosebleeds, upper respiratory tract infection, joint pain, bleeding gums, purple or red spots on your skin (petechiae), and runny nose.
You Should Know: These are not all of the possible side effects for DOPTELET. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or review the Prescribing Information at https://www.doptelet.com/doptelet.pdf.
If you suspect that you have experienced a side effect, call your healthcare provider. You may also report them to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 1-800-FDA-1088.
For further information, please see full Prescribing Information, including the Patient Information Leaflet.
