Treatment response and its predictors of immunosuppressive therapy in patients with severe or very severe aplastic anemia

Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a hematological condition with high morbidity and mortality. Treatment with immunosuppressive agents is alternative treatment if bone marrow transplant is not available. Several studies reported predictors of successful treatment in patients with SAA. However, the results are not consistent and not specific to anti-thymocyte globulin and cyclosporine. This study aimed to evaluate the predictor of response to treatment in this specific regimen. This study was a retrospective cohort study. The inclusion criteria were adult patients with SAA or very SAA who received this regimen. Clinical factors predictive of response to treatment were computed. There were 92 patients met the study criteria. Of those, 56 patients (60.87%) were in a group of response to treatment. There were nine factors in the predictive model for good response to treatment. Only body mass index was independently associated with response to treatment with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.31 (95% confidence interval of 1.04, 1.67). Age or hematological laboratory factors such as lymphocyte or neutrophil count were not significant. Low body mass index may be less likely to response to immunosuppressive treatment in patients with severe or very severe aplastic anemia.