Azathioprine Treatment in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Double Edged Sword
- Author:
Jia XIA
;
Li-qun HE
- Publication Type:case report
- Keywords:
Systemic lupus erythematosus, azathioprine, pancytopenia
- From:
The International Medical Journal Malaysia
2015;14(2):61-62
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Extremely severe pancytopenia induced by low dosage of azathioprine in systemic lupus erythematosus patients
is rare. A 40-year-old Chinese female was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. She suffered worse
erythema, oral ulceration, raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high anti-dsDNA in August 2013. Then she
was initiated on oral azathioprine 50mg/d and extremely severe pancytopenia was seen in September 2013. She
was recovered by a series of treatments. Regular monitoring of blood counts is highly recommended to reduce
the possible serious myelosuppression induced by azathioprine.