A multicenter trial of antithymocyte globulin in XXXX and related diseases.

@entity1 @entity2150 @entity3043 @entity11330 @entity2131 @entity3800 @entity204
One hundred fifty @entity1 with @entity2131 were treated in three groups with antithymocyte globulin (ATG; Upjohn, Kalamazoo, MI) in a multicenter trial. @entity1 were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months after initiation of treatment by three criteria: transfusion independence, clinical improvement, and blood counts. Group I consisted of 77 @entity1 with acute severe @entity2150 , randomized to receive either ten or 28 days of ATG. There was no significant difference between the two arms of this protocol: 47% of all @entity1 were clinically improved and 31% were transfusion independent at 3 months. Of the severely affected @entity1 , 27% died before 3 months; most @entity204 occurred early in treatment. Factors associated with survival in severely affected @entity1 included male sex, age less than 40 years, absolute neutrophil count greater than 200/microL, and idiopathic etiology. Neutrophil counts generally increased by 8 weeks after treatment, but @entity1 continued to show improvement to 1 year posttreatment. In Group II, 44 @entity1 with moderate or chronic severe @entity2150 were randomized to receive either ten days of ATG or 3 months of high-dose @entity11330 . No @entity1 initially treated with @entity3800 recovered, but 28% of ATG-treated cases achieved transfusion independence at 3 months. Group III consisted of @entity1 with a variety of @entity2131 . @entity1 with @entity3043 and cellular bone marrow showed response rates similar to those of @entity1 with chronic or moderate @entity2150 .
