Use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for treatment of aplastic anemia.

Over the last ten years, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rh G-CSF) has been widely used in the treatment of aplastic anemia (AA). It has been shown to facilitate the recovery of neutrophil count and useful for complicated bacterial or fungal infections. However, recent randomized clinical trials showed that the addition of rh G-CSF to immunosuppressive therapy had no clinical benefit for the prophylaxis of severe infections. These results suggested that rh G-CSF should be used for the treatment of infectious complications, not for the prophylaxis of infections in patients with AA.