Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is defined by:
(A) Bone marrow cellularity of less than 25%.
(B) Splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and lymphadenopathy do not generally occur in this condition.
(C) At least two of the following cytopenias: granulocyte count, 500/mm3; platelet count, 20,000/mm3; and/or reticulocyte count, 20,000/mm3.
(D) Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the treatment option.
(E) All of the above.
Which statement about treatment for severe aplastic anemia is WRONG?
(A) Serum sickness from ATG administration, characterized by spiking fevers, skin rashes, and arthralgias, occurs commonly within 1 weeks from the first dose.
(B) If the patient in question is a candidate for stem cell transplantation based on all relevant factors, transplantation could be considered at any age for a patient with a syngeneic donor.
(C) Transplantation could be considered a first-choice therapy if an allele-level HLA-matched unrelated donor is available for patients younger than 20 years-old.
(D) Several studies have compared equine to rabbit ATG in the immunotherapy of aplastic anemia, contemporaneously or using historical comparisons. The consensus is that equine ATG is superior to rabbit and, if available, is recommended as the first line of therapy.
(E) For untreated severe aplastic anemia, treatment with standard ATG plus cyclosporine and high dose eltrombopag (eg. 150 mg/d for Western adults) can achieve overall response rate up to 90% at 6 months of treatment.
Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is defined by:
(1) Bone marrow cellularity of less than 25%
(2) Splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and lymphadenopathy do not generally occur in this condition
(3) At least two of the following cytopenias: granulocyte count <500/mm3; platelet count, <20,000/mm3; and/or reticulocyte count <20,000/mm3
(4) Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only treatment option