Effects of Rituximab combined with Dexamethasone in treatment of patients with thrombocytopenia secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus
Objective:To observe effects of Rituximab combined with Dexamethasone in treatment of patients with thrombocytopenia secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Methods:A prospective study was conducted on 109 patients with thrombocytopenia secondary to SLE admitted to the hospital from September 2020 to September 2022.According to the random number table method,they were divided into observation group(55 cases)and control group(54 cases).The control group was treated with Dexamethasone sodium phosphate injection,while the observation group was treated with Rituximab injection on the basis of that of the control group.The clinical efficacy,the platelet count(PLT),the serum inflammatory factors[B cell activating factor(BAFF),interleukin-8(IL-8),interleukin-10(IL-10)]levels,and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups before and after the treatment.Results:The total effective rate of the observation group was 96.36%(53/55),which was higher than 83.33%(45/54)of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).After the treatment,the PLT level in the observation group was higher than that in the control group,the levels of serum IL-8,IL-10 and BAFF were lower than those in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05).However,there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusions:Rituximab combined with Dexamethasone is effective in the treatment of the patients with thrombocytopenia secondary to SLE,which can improve the PLT levels and reduce the levels of serum IL-8,IL-10 and BAFF.Moreover,it is superior to single Dexamethasone treatment.