Abstract
A 27-year-old woman, who had been in good health untill the onset of a hypoplastic anemia followed the administration of a small amount of chloramphenicol (CP) (about 11 grams), is reported.
At the first time, she was relieved from acute mastitis by the oral administration of CP (7 grams; 1 g/day×7 days). After that time, she had been healthy for about three months. Sudden epistaxis and subcutaneous bleeding, however, developed with the pancytopenia in the peripheral blood about one week after the second oral administration of CP (4 grams; 1 g/day×4 days) for acute tonsillitis. She had been entirely unresponsive to some corticosteroids (prednisolone, dexamethasone and beta-methasone) and blood transfusions during hospitalization, and died about one year later. The autopsy revealed that the bone marrow hypoplasia was very remarkable.
It is suspected that CP induced hypoplastic anemia may be due to the toxicity of CP, the susceptibility of the host and/or the idiosyncrasy, and it is thought that the hypoplastic anemia by chloramphenicol in this case is related to the susceptibility of the host (II type of Adel a. Yunis).
This is the third case reported in which hypoplastic anemia is followed the administration of less than 40 grams of chloramphenicol in Japan since 1955.
