A Study to Assess Efficacy and Safety of Eltrombopag in Combination With a Short Course of Dexamethasone in Patients With Newly Diagnosed ITP

This is a Phase II, multicenter, 1:1 randomized, open-label study that compared the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag in combination with a short course of high-dose dexamethasone to 1-3 cycles of high-dose dexamethasone monotherapy, as first-line treatment in adult patients with newly diagnosed ITP. Adult patients with newly diagnosed ITP who had platelet counts \< 30 × 10\^9/L and required treatment were screened, and if eligible, were randomized to either Arm A (eltrombopag in combination with a short course of dexamethasone) or Arm B (1-3 cycles of dexamethasone monotherapy). The study was conducted in the following periods: Screening Period: Patients were screened for 14 days based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Treatment Period: Arm A: Patients were treated for 26 weeks during the treatment period. Patients who reached platelet counts ≥ 30 × 10\^9/L and maintained counts ≥ 30 × 10\^9/L during the tapering phase were eligible for treatment discontinuation. Duration of tapering before treatment discontinuation at Week 26 was 6 weeks. Arm B: Patients were treated up to 12 weeks during the treatment period. Patients who reached platelet counts ≥ 30 × 10\^9/L and maintained counts ≥ 30 × 10\^9/L after 1-3 cycles of dexamethasone treatment were eligible for treatment discontinuation. Patients with platelet counts \< 30 × 10\^9/L after 3 cycles of dexamethasone treatment were offered a course of eltrombopag treatment within the study and were discontinued from study at week 52. Observation period: After completion of the treatment period, all patients were observed for sustained response off treatment until week 52. Only patients with sustained response at week 52 were followed for another 26 weeks.