2.1 Patients
Twenty classic PNH patients with refractory/recurrent or glucocorticoid dependent disease from June 2010 to June 2018 at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital were enrolled in our study. All patients who were enrolled in our study were treated with glucocorticoids and had serious side effects, such as diabetes, hypertension, gastrointestinal bleeding, etc. The characteristics and related risks of chemotherapy were clearly explained to patients, and patients provided written informed consent. Patients with active bacterial or fungal infections or a history of lung or heart disease were not included in this study. The clinical data of the patients were collected, including sex, age, clinical classification, clinical manifestations and laboratory results. PNH clones and FLAER were detected by flow cytometry in 20 patients (Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B). The PNH diagnostic criteria were based on the Chinese expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of PNH (2014) [15]. The study was in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the ethical committee of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital. Consent for research and publication was obtained from participants and/or their immediate family if certain participants had passed away.