Other Blood Diseases

Aplastic Anemia

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Treatment

Specific treatments for aplastic anemia will be determined by your child's doctor based on the following:

• Your child's age, overall health and medical history
• Extent of your child's anemia
• Cause of the anemia
• Your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the anemia
• Your opinion or preference

Treatment for aplastic anemia usually depends on the underlying cause. For certain causes, recovery can be expected after treatment. However, relapses can occur. If all treatments fail, aplastic anemia can be fatal.

To treat the low blood counts, initial treatment is supportive, meaning it is necessary to treat the symptoms but it doesn't cure the disease. Supportive therapy may include:

• Blood transfusion for both red blood cells and platelets
• Preventive antibiotic therapy
• Meticulous hand washing
• Special care for food preparation, such as only eating cooked foods
• Avoiding construction sites that may be a source of certain fungi

The main treatments for aplastic anemia are:

• Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) -- Bone marrow transplants are performed to replace diseased marrow with healthy marrow from a well-matched donor. This treatment, with a good marrow match, can be highly successful - preventing recurrence in about 80 percent of young patients and about 40 percent to 70 percent of older patients. There is a chance, however, that your child may reject the transplant, leading to life-threatening complications. Not everyone will have a suitable donor.

• Immunosuppressive Therapy -- This therapy uses drugs to stimulate blood cell production. Aplastic anemia may be due to an autoimmune disorder that causes your child's immune system to attack and damage cells in his or her bone marrow. To prevent this, doctors sometimes prescribe drugs that suppress immune cells that are damaging bone marrow cells.

In addition, a synthetic version of the male hormone androgen is being studied as a treatment for aplastic anemia. The hormone stimulates blood cell production.

Some treatments must be performed in the hospital or our outpatient Pediatric Treatment Center. But most of your child's medications will be taken at home. Your child will need to have frequent blood tests to monitor progress.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated May 8, 2007