A CASE OF CLOZAPINE-INDUCED NEUTROPENIA A ND AGRANULOCYTOSIS - THE IMPORTANCE OF ITS EARLY DETECTION THROUGH A DRUG SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM

Citation
J. Alfaro et al., A CASE OF CLOZAPINE-INDUCED NEUTROPENIA A ND AGRANULOCYTOSIS - THE IMPORTANCE OF ITS EARLY DETECTION THROUGH A DRUG SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM, Revista Medica de Chile, 122(6), 1994, pp. 694-698
Citations number
9
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal
Journal title
ISSN journal
00349887
Volume
122
Issue
6
Year of publication
1994
Pages
694 - 698
Database
ISI
SICI code
0034-9887(1994)122:6<694:ACOCNA>2.0.ZU;2-Y
Abstract
Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug with a very low incidence of extrapyramidal effects, used in the treatment of schizophrenic pati ents refractory or intolerant to classical neuroleptics. Its use is li mited due to the potential risk of producing agranulocytosis in 1 to 2 % of patients. Despite the severity of this complication, the Federal Drug Administration allowed its use as long as its prescription is ass ociated to a drug surveillance program that controls regularly the whi te cell count of patients using the drug. Three hundred three patients (210 male) have been admitted to a clozapine drug surveillance progra m. Two patients had a transitory leukopenia with less than 2000 leukoc ytes/ml and less than 1000 neutrophyls/ml, that reverted after discont inuing the drug. One patient, whose case is described, had a severe ag ranulocytosis with less than 500 neutrophyls/ml that required hospital admission.