Treatment of onyalai with prednisolone, intravenous gammaglobulin and ascorbic acid. A prospective clinical trial.

Forty-two patients in the acute phase of onyalai were admitted to hospital and randomly divided into three groups of 14 to receive prednisolone 3 mg/kg/d for 1 week, intravenous gammaglobulin 100 mg/kg on 2 successive days, or ascorbic acid 1000 mg 3 times a day for 1 week. The groups were comparable with regard to sex and age distribution, initial platelet counts and initial haemoglobin values. No statistical difference was observed between the three treatment groups with regard to changes in the platelet counts during the period of observation. One patient died from haemorrhagic shock. The low mortality rate in this series suggests that admission to hospital and early correction of blood loss are important factors in reducing the mortality rate associated with onyalai.