DRUG-INDUCED AGRANULOCYTOSIS - EXPERIENCE AT THE STRASBOURG-TEACHING-HOSPITAL

Fifty-eight episodes of drug-induced agranulocytosis were treated at t he Strasbourg Teaching Hospital between 1985 and 1997. Mean patient ag e was 65.7 years, and the female-to-male ratio was 1.4. Mean neutrophi l count was 0.09.10(9)/L. The incidence remained stable at six cases p er year throughout the study period. Thyroid antagonists (17.5 %), non steroidal antiinflammatory agents (12.3 %), and antimicrobials were th e most common offenders. Mean duration of exposure to the causative dr ug was 70 days. Mean time to recovery was 9.7 days overall. Two patien ts died (3.4 %). The 17 patients who received hematopoietic growth fac tors had a mean time to recovery of only 2.6 days (P = 0.55 by the Man n-Whitney test), with no morbidity. Educating physicians and patients about the need for routine blood cell count monitoring is essential.