Addition of telitacicept to glucocorticoid reduces abdominal pain duration and relapse rate in children with severe abdominal Henoch-Schönlein purpura: a single-center retrospective matched cohort study
In brief
Children given telitacicept had 3-month relapse fall from 46% to 8%
In a matched study of 26 children with severe abdominal Henoch-Schonlein purpura, those given telitacicept plus glucocorticoids had pain relief in 3 days, versus 5 days with glucocorticoids alone. Relapse within 3 months occurred in 1 of 13 children given telitacicept and 6 of 13 in the comparison group; this small, retrospective single-center finding needs confirmation in randomized trials.
- Journal
- Frontiers in immunology (Q1)
- Published
- 16 September 2026
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Evidence level
- Level 1, High (CEBM 1b)
- Authors
- Xuemei Jiang, Hongye Wang, Mifeng Yang, Xiran Yang, Yabin Liao, Jia Zhang, et al.
- PMID
- 42819322
- DOI
- 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1865753
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Hematology (top studies of the week, 4 October 2026): Telitacicept reduced abdominal pain duration
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Severe abdominal Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) can cause intense abdominal pain and gastrointestinal bleeding. Glucocorticoid therapy has limited efficacy and a high relapse rate after withdrawal. Telitacicept blocks BLyS/APRIL and inhibits the production of pathogenic IgA immune complexes, but its use in HSP has not been reported. METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective matched cohort study. Children hospitalized with severe abdominal HSP (abdominal pain VAS ≥3, hematochezia, and extensive rash) between January 2025 and December 2025 were included. Patients were divided into a telitacicept plus glucocorticoid group (telitacicept group) and a glucocorticoid-alone group (steroid group). Individual 1:1 matching was performed based on age, sex, and disease severity. The primary outcome was time to abdominal pain relief. Secondary outcomes included time to rash resolution, disease relapse rate within 3 months after treatment, and safety. Intergroup comparisons used Wilcoxon rank-sum test or Fisher's exact test, and relapse-free time was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test. RESULTS: A total of 26 children (13 per group) were included. Baseline characteristics were balanced between the two groups (age, sex, age strata, all P > 0.05). The median time to abdominal pain relief was 3.0 days (IQR 3.0-4.0) in the telitacicept group, significantly shorter than the 5.0 days (IQR 4.0-6.0) in the steroid group (P = 0.013). Median time to rash resolution was 9.0 days in both groups, with no significant difference (P = 0.113). The 3-month relapse rate was 7.7% (1/13) in the telitacicept group versus 46.2% (6/13) in the steroid group; the log-rank test showed a significant difference in relapse-time distribution (P = 0.022). The number needed to treat (NNT) was 2.6. For safety, mild injection-site redness occurred in 2 patients (15.4%) in the telitacicept group, and transient hyperglycemia occurred in 1 patient (7.7%) in the steroid group. No serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSION: In children with severe abdominal HSP, adding telitacicept to glucocorticoid significantly shortens the time to abdominal pain relief and reduces the short-term relapse rate, with a favorable safety profile. This study provides preliminary clinical evidence for telitacicept as an adjunctive therapy to glucocorticoids, which warrants further validation in prospective randomized controlled trials.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
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