ITP in pregnancy: Doses of corticosteroids

Pregnant women with immune thrombocytopenia should start receiving corticosteroid treatment 2 weeks before delivery. What should be the dose of steroids?

Bertrand Godeau, MD, PhD: It is a debate. Our practice in France is to give prednisone 1 mg/kg of body weight, but some American colleagues use a lower dose of 20 or 25 mg.

I think that it is not really a question, because with a short course of steroids the probability of having severe side effects is very low and a short course of steroids is well tolerated. So my practice is to give 1 mg/kg of body weight.