Onyalai - therapeutic effects of vincristine sulphate : a prospective randomized trial
Please cite as follows: Hesseling, P. B., Girdle-Brown, B. & Smit. J. 1986. Onyalai - Therapeutic effects of vincristine sulphate: A prospective randomized trial. S Afr Med J, 70:201-202.
The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.za
Article
Twenty out of 40 patients with onyalai admitted to Rundu State Hospital, Kavango, SWA/Namibia, were randomized to receive a vincristine sulphate bolus of 1,5 mg/m2 or an equivalent volume of normal saline intravenously on days 8 and 15 when haemorrhage or a platelet count of less than 50 x 109/l persisted for more than 1 week after admission. All patients were observed in hospital for at least 21 days. Five out of 10 patients who received vincristine achieved a platelet count in excess of 100 x 109/l on day 21 and only 2 out of 10 patients who received placebo achieved a similar rise in the platelet count. Two patients, neither of whom was treated with vincristine, died of cerebral haemorrhage.