Early diagnosis drives effective PNH management
If any of these conditions are evident in your patients, they should be tested for PNH1*
- Evaluate your patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) at diagnosis and your patients with aplastic anemia (AA) at diagnosis and annually
- Many patients with AA or MDS go on to develop PNH
- The presence of even very small PNH clones in patients with AA or MDS may be predictive of response to immunosuppressive therapy2, 3
- Unexplained arterial (eg, transient ischemic attack [TIA]) or venous thromboses in typical (eg, DVT) or atypical sites
- Coombs-negative hemolytic anemia
- Hemolysis in the presence of anemia, fatigue, smooth muscle dystonia (dysphagia, abdominal pain, dyspnea, erectile dysfunction), unexplained visceral pain, or hemoglobinuria
- End organ damage with hemolysis4-8
- Renal insufficiency
- Liver disease
The life-threatening and progressive nature of PNH warrants early identification in these subpopulations.
References: 1. Parker C, Omine M, Richards S, et al; for the International PNH Interest Group. Diagnosis and management of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Blood. 2005;106:3699-3709. 2. Sugimori C, Chuhjo T, Feng X, et al. Minor population of CD55-CD59- blood cells predicts response to immunosuppressive therapy and prognosis in patients with aplastic anemia. Blood. 2006;107:1308-1314. 3. Wang H, Chuhjo T, Yasue S, Omine M, Nakao S. Clinical significance of a minor population of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria–type cells in bone marrow failure syndrome. Blood. 2002;100:3897-3902. 4. Hillmen P, Lewis SM, Bessler M, Luzzatto L, Dacie JV. Natural history of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:1253-1258. 5. Socié G, Mary J-Y, de Gramont A, et al; for the French Society of Haematology. Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria: long-term follow-up and prognostic factors. Lancet. 1996;348:573-577. 6. Nishimura J-I, Kanakura Y, Ware RE, et al. Clinical course and flow cytometric analysis of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria in the United States and Japan. Medicine. 2004;83:193-207. 7. Hill A, Richards SJ, Hillmen P. Recent developments in the understanding and management of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria. Br J Haematol. 2007;137:181-192. 8. FDA approves first-of-its-kind drug to treat rare blood disorder [press release]. Washington DC: Food and Drug Administration; March 16, 2007.