INCIDENCE AND PROBABLE ETIOLOGY OF TOXIC AGRANULOCYTOSIS IN A DEFINEDPOPULATION OF THE PROVINCE OF BUENOS-AIRES (1963-1976)

The medical records of 55 patients with toxic agranulocytosis (unrelat ed to radiation, anticancer drugs or known industrial toxics) were rev iewed in a well defined population of the Province of Buenos Aires dur ing 1963-1976. There were 65 episodes in 30 women and 25 men, age aver age 49 years. Nine patients repeated the episode by reexposure to the same drug. The annual incidence rate was 8.4 cases per million/year. N ineteen (35.5%) of the patients died. Forty-three episodes (64.3%) wer e associated with analgesic-antipyretics, mainly dipyrone (34 cases). In most situations, drugs were prescribed for mild complaints such as pharyngitis, arthralgias or abdominal pain. Although toxic agranulocyt osis is an infrequent disease, its relationship with drugs is well kno wn and its mortality remains high.