Effects of Lusutrombopag on Post-invasive Procedural Bleeding in Thrombocytopenic Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Thrombocytopenia can increase the bleeding risk in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) undergoing invasive procedures. Prophylactic platelet transfusion (PT) is often performed to increase platelet counts in patients with CLD undergoing invasive procedures to prevent bleeding. Lusutrombopag, a small-molecule thrombopoietin receptor agonist, is expected to be an alternative therapy to prophylactic PT. This study aimed to compare the effects between lusutrombopag and PT. Methods: Data were obtained from a Japanese administrative database (April 2008–May 2019). Patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent planned invasive procedures after the first CLD diagnosis and were observed for ≥ 30 days prior to invasive procedures were considered eligible. Patients who underwent planned invasive procedures with lusutrombopag prescription at 5–30 days before the procedure were categorized as the lusutrombopag group, whereas those who received PT at 1 day before and/or on the same day as the procedure, without lusutrombopag prescription, were classified as the PT group. Outcomes, including bleeding frequency during hospitalization and average medical costs (costs for prophylactic treatment and total costs between the day of the invasive procedure and 30 days after the invasive procedure), were compared between the groups after matching. Results: Among 738,878 patients with CLD, 379 cases for each group were identified after matching. The incidence of bleeding events was lower in the lusutrombopag group than in the PT group (3.7% vs. 8.2%, p < 0.001). Average medical costs were lower in the lusutrombopag group than in the PT group ($6667 as of August 2021 vs. $7170, p = 0.011). Conclusion: Lusutrombopag is suggested to be effective as a prophylactic treatment for bleeding prevention in patients with CLD undergoing planned invasive procedures.