First–line treatment option and response rates
First–line treatment options and response rates of patients withH. pylori –positive and H. pylori –negative ITP were shown in Table 2. First–line treatment options offered to all ITP patients were as follows: standard–dose steroid or standard–dose steroid plus IVIG or high–dose steroid or high–dose steroid plus IVIG. The most common form of treatment was standard–dose steroid (62.5% vs 68.9%) in both groups and the groups were not different with regard to treatment options (p=0.524). Rates of complete response, partial response, and no response after first–line treatment were comparable for the two groups (respectively, 75% vs 73.6%, and 18.8% vs 19.5%, and 6.2% vs 6.9%) and there was no significant difference between the groups (p=0.283). Median platelet count after first–line treatment was determined as 214×109/L for H. pylori –positive patients and as 242×109/L for H. pylori –negative patients, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.089).