Abstract
A 34-year-old Japanese woman developed spiking fever, splenomegaly, arthritis, neutrophilia, hyperferritinaemia (22517 ng/ml), elevated C-reactive protein (9.1 mg/ml) and severe thrombocytopenia (1.7×104/μl). The patient had depressed antithrombin III activity and abnormally high concentrations of both fibrin degradation products and thrombin-antithrombin complexes. This condition was resistant to high-dose prednisolone therapy (120 mg/day) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. We initiated oral methotrexate therapy (7.5 mg/week, orally) with a favourable outcome. The patient's spiking fever subsided on the first day of methotrexate administration. Elevated levels of ferritin and C-reactive protein in the sera rapidly normalised. Methotrexate rapidly improved the disease state which suggested that methotrexate act via modulation of cytokine production or secretion.
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Yamaguchi, M., Matsukawa, Y., Takahashi, N. et al. Successful methotrexate therapy for adult Still's disease with Marked thrombocytopenia. Clin Rheumatol 17, 256–257 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01451061
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01451061