| CASE REPORT |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 27
| Issue : 2 | Page : 156-158 |
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Early onset pancytopenia in patient on methotrexate
Felix K Jebasingh1, Rajesh Singh Laishram2, Lallan Prasad1, Th Premchand Singh1
1 Department of Medicine, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Lamphelpat, Imphal, Manipur, India
2 Department of Pathology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Lamphelpat, Imphal, Manipur, India
Correspondence Address:
Rajesh Singh Laishram
Department of Pathology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Lamphelpat, Imphal - 795 004, Manipur
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0972-4958.121605
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A 30-years-old female presented to emergency department with a history of fever, epistaxis and bleeding gums since 3 days. She gave history of methotrexate (MTX) prescribed for joint pain (a cumulative dose of 20 mg in 3 days) prior to the presentation. Her blood counts were normal prior to MTX ingestion. But on the day of admission, all the three cell lines were low. She was given 5 units of fresh whole blood and antimicrobial and antifungal coverage during her total stay in the hospital. Her bone marrow finding was suggestive of aplastic anemia/drug induced bone marrow suppression. After 2 weeks of supportive therapy, her blood counts were normal. She was advised to repeat bone marrow examination, which she denied. Her anti-CCP levels were normal and did not meet the criteria for rheumatoid arthritis so advised to stop MTX. Although, pancytopenia associated with low-dose MTX therapy is not expected as early as 3 days after initiation of the therapy, physicians should also be aware of this life threatening adverse effect during the very first days of MTX therapy. |
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