Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T20:36:11.056Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Two Cases of Agranulocytosis on Addition of a Butyrophenone to a Long-Standing Course of Phenothiazine Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Allan Young  and
Robert Kehoe
Allan Young*
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Robert Kehoe
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital
*
∗Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh EH10 5HF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Two cases of agranulocytosis occurring after addition of a butyrophenone to a course of phenothiazine treatment are reported and possible mechanisms for this interaction are discussed. Agranulocytosis is a well-documented adverse effect of phenothiazine administration (Vincent, 1986). Important factors are the total amount of drug given and the duration of administration. Agranulocytosis usually occurs within the first three months of therapy (Pisciotta, 1971; Marcus & Mulvihill, 1978) and the relationship with the cumulative dose has been emphasised (Ananth et al, 1973). Agranulocytosis following prolonged administration has been rarely reported (Denber, 1970, Pisciotta, 1978). We report two cases where agranulocytosis developed in patients with a long previous exposure to phenothiazines, treated for the first time with a combination of phenothiazines and a butyrophenone.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 5 , May 1989 , pp. 710 - 712
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ananth, J. V., Values, J. V. & Whitelaw, J. P. (1973) Usual and unusual agranulocytosis during neuroleptic therapy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 100–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ayd, F. (1980) Parenteral droperidol for acutely disturbed behaviour in psychotic and non-psychotic individuals. International Drug Therapy Newsletter, 15, No. 3.Google Scholar
Davis, J. M. (1985) Antipsychotic drugs. In Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry/IV (eds Kaplin, H. I. & Saddock, B. J.). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Denber, H. C. B. (1970) An unusual case of chlorpromazine agranulocytosis. Diseases of the Nervous System, 31, 134–139.Google ScholarPubMed
Marcus, J. & Mulvihill, F. J. (1978) Agranulocytosis and chlorpromazine. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 39, 784–786.Google ScholarPubMed
Pisciotta, A. V. (1971) Drug-induced leukopenia and aplastic anaemia. Clinical Pharmacological Therapy, 12, 13–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pisciotta, A. V. (1978) Drug-induced agranulocytosis. Drugs, 15, 132–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vincent, P. C. (1986) Drug-induced aplastic anaemia and agranulocytosis: incidence and mechanisms. Drugs, 31, 52–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.