Eosinophilia and parotitis occurring early in clozapine treatment

Clozapine-Induced Eosinophilia: a Case Report

INTRODUCTION

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug eligible for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. It frequently represents the best and the only choice in resistant schizophrenia. However, its use is feared by many professionals due to its possible adverse effects, such as eosinophilia.

CASE REPORT

We report a case of a young white male suffering from treatment-resistant schizophrenia who rapidly developed eosinophilia after starting clozapine.

DISCUSSION

We present a case of a 26-year-old white man diagnosed with schizophrenia with poor clinical response to several antipsychotics owing to which clozapine was started. Psychotic symptoms improved dramatically but a progressively ascendant eosinophilia was reported during serial haematological analyses. The patient remained physically asymptomatic. An exhaustive assessment with ancillary diagnostic tests revealed no cause for eosinophilia. Thus, a diagnosis of clozapine-induced eosinophilia was made. The drug was discontinued and eosinophil count progressively returned to normal but psychotic symptoms worsened.

CONCLUSIONS

Clozapine treatment is frequently feared due to its possible side effects and complications, delaying its use in refractory schizophrenia. Also, to our knowledge, there are no specific guidelines on how to manage haematological side effects such as eosinophilia. This is problematic as, in some cases, it may lead to an unnecessary withdrawal of clozapine with a worsening of psychotic symptoms. We present a brief discussion of the recent literature on the subject.

Clozapine-Induced Eosinophilia: a Case Report

INTRODUCTION

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug eligible for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. It frequently represents the best and the only choice in resistant schizophrenia. However, its use is feared by many professionals due to its possible adverse effects, such as eosinophilia.

CASE REPORT

We report a case of a young white male suffering from treatment-resistant schizophrenia who rapidly developed eosinophilia after starting clozapine.

DISCUSSION

We present a case of a 26-year-old white man diagnosed with schizophrenia with poor clinical response to several antipsychotics owing to which clozapine was started. Psychotic symptoms improved dramatically but a progressively ascendant eosinophilia was reported during serial haematological analyses. The patient remained physically asymptomatic. An exhaustive assessment with ancillary diagnostic tests revealed no cause for eosinophilia. Thus, a diagnosis of clozapine-induced eosinophilia was made. The drug was discontinued and eosinophil count progressively returned to normal but psychotic symptoms worsened.

CONCLUSIONS

Clozapine treatment is frequently feared due to its possible side effects and complications, delaying its use in refractory schizophrenia. Also, to our knowledge, there are no specific guidelines on how to manage haematological side effects such as eosinophilia. This is problematic as, in some cases, it may lead to an unnecessary withdrawal of clozapine with a worsening of psychotic symptoms. We present a brief discussion of the recent literature on the subject.

Parotitis due to Burkholderia cepacia infection after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Burkholderia cepacia predominantly causes opportunistic infections in hospitalized and immunocompromised patients such as patients with cystic fibrosis, cancer, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Nonetheless, Burkholderia cepacia is infrequently reported to cause infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. Herein, we report a rare case of suppurative parotitis in a 31-year-old patient with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) who underwent auto-HSCT. The secretion from the Stensen duct was collected, and Burkholderia cepacia was detected using the VITEK-2 identification system. Additionally, sensitive antibiotic therapy against this bacterium was also effective. This is the first case of parotitis triggered by Burkholderia cepacia after auto-HSCT, and it is also the first reported domestic case. This case emphasizes the importance of considering bacterial infections in general and Burkholderia cepacia specifically in HSCT patients with post-transplant parotitis.

Haematological side effects associated with clozapine: A retrospective study from India

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the incidence of clozapine induced haematological side effects among patients receiving clozapine.

METHODS

Data of 333 patients who were on clozapine for a mean duration of 52.96 (45.18) months were reviewed for haematological abnormalities.

RESULTS

Most of the patients (n = 320; 96.1 %) were diagnosed with psychotic disorders, mainly schizophrenia. These patients were receiving clozapine in the dose range of 12.5 mg-600 mg/day, with a mean dose of 212.08 (102.43) mg/day at the time of review of their records. About one-tenth (N = 33; 9.9 %) of patients developed eosinophilia (absolute eosinophil count >600), and 8.2 % (N = 27) experienced thrombocytopenia (platelet count <100,000 cmm³) and 7 patients developed anaemia (haemoglobin level <10 gm%). Only 2 (0.6%) patients developed neutropenia. Mean dose (mg/day) at which haematological side-effects occurred were as follows: 159.85 (87.65) mg/day for eosinophilia; 193.98 (148.93) mg/day for thrombocytopenia; 78.57 (22.49) mg/day for anaemia. In a small proportion of patients, clozapine was discontinued due to the haematological abnormalities and in other patients these abnormalities normalized on its own in subsequent follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Clozapine is associated eosinophilia and thrombocytopenia, which are often benign and in majority of the patients these normalize with time.