Resistant thrombocytopenia in an HIV and hepatitis C patient: treatment response with novel agent eltrombopag

HIV-associated thrombocytopenia is a disease which can be recurrent to standard therapy which includes highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) therapy, steroids and immunoglobulin. We report a patient with HIV and hepatitis C who presented with resistant thrombocytopenia. Treatment with Eltrombopag – a thrombopoeitin receptor agonist showed initial good response with recurrence of thrombocytopenia. This novel agent could be considered as a treatment option prior to splenectomy and may be useful as a temporizing measure.