This year’s 62nd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition was virtual due to the global pandemic. Held December 5-8, the meeting attracted thousands of clinicians, scientists, pharmaceutical company personnel and even investment analysts worldwide to share ground-breaking research in the field of hematology. In conjunction with the ASH meeting, PDSA hosted the annual Friday Morning ITP Breakfast , coordinated by PDSA and four of PDSA’s Medical Advisors, James Bussel, MD, Nichola Cooper, MD, Michele Lambert, MD and John Semple, PhD. This year’s virtual event featured fourteen hematology experts from seven countries who presented their leading-edge ITP research. In this issue of the e-news, we report on research contributed to by PDSA staff and advisors showcasing advanced knowledge on ITP therapies and patients’ overall quality of life living with ITP. Watch for additional ASH reports in the winter issue of The Platelet News, the PDSA quarterly newsletter.

CONTENTS:

• A Multicentre Randomized Trial of First-line Treatment Pathways For Newly Diagnosed Immune Thrombocytopenia: A Standard Steroid Treatment vs Combined Steroid and Mycophenolate (FLIGHT Trial)
• Decision Aid to Support Shared Decision Making in Pediatric Refractory Immune Thrombocytopenia
• Patient’s Reported Perceptions On Satisfaction with Immune Thrombocytopenia Treatments: Results from the ITP World Impact Survey (I-WISh)

CONTENTS:

• Do Splenectomized Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) Patients Have Increased Risks for Platelet Decreases Following COVID-19 Vaccination?
• Pediatric Patients with ITP Have a Dysbiotic (Imbalanced) Gut Microbiome at Time of Diagnosis

CONTENTS:

• Differentiating Pediatric Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) from Secondary Disorders such as Primary Immune Deficiency (PID) and Inherited Platelet Disorders (IPD)
• The Efficacy and Safety of Different Dosages of Rituximab for Adults With ITP

CONTENTS:

• Refractory Immune Thrombocytopenia in Adults: Therapeutic Strategies Inside and Out of the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Switching To Avatrombopag (Doptelet) Following Eltrombopag (Promacta/Revolade) And/Or Romiplostim (Nplate) Use

CONTENTS:

• Women with Bleeding Disorders: Results from Haemnet’s Cinderella Study
• Prolonged Responses After Discontinuing Thrombopoietin-Receptor Agonists Treatment in ITP: Results from the Multicenter Interventional Study (STOPAGO)

CONTENTS:

• A Single-Arm, Long-Term Efficacy and Safety Study of Subcutaneous Romiplostim (Nplate®) in Children with Immune Thrombocytopenia
• Risks of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), Pulmonary Embolism (PE), and Bleeding After Covid-19: Nationwide Self-Controlled Cases Series and Matched Cohort Study

CONTENTS:

• COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia
• Prednisone Plus IVIG Compared with Prednisone or IVIG For Immune Thrombocytopenia in Pregnancy: A National Retrospective Cohort Study

CONTENTS:

• Treatment of Pediatric Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Clinical Trials
• Frequency and Utility of Bone Marrow Examination in Relapsed/Refractory Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)

CONTENTS:

• Comparison of Rituximab Response in Adults with Difficult to Treat ITP Due to the Presence of an Accessory Spleen
• Diagnosis Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) Including Secondary ITP, and Selection of Second Line Therapy

CONTENTS:

The European Hematology Association (EHA) held its first hybrid meeting since the start of the pandemic. The in-person meeting took place June 9-12, 2022, in Vienna, Austria. The EHA 2022 Congress provided an opportunity for expert knowledge and experience gained worldwide to come together in one space. Several cutting-edge posters and oral presentations were presented with a focus on immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The following summaries are from three abstracts presented at EHA.

• Preliminary Analysis of the TAPER Trial In ITP patients: Maintenance Following Eltrombopag Use
• Long-Term Follow- Up with Rilzabrutinib in ITP Patients