A Case of Dapsone-Induced Severe Agranulocytosis Causing Life-Threatening Skin Sepsis in a Sri Lankan Child with Borderline Leprosy: A Success Story!

Leprosy is a common skin disease in Sri Lanka which is being increasingly diagnosed due to the existing successful public health programme. Dapsone is a drug which holds unique pharmacological properties where it serves as both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents. Of its main adverse effects,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Meranthi Fernando, Imalke Kankananarachchi, Pratheep Navabalasooriyar, Bhagya Herath, Pushpa Punchihewa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2314379
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Leprosy is a common skin disease in Sri Lanka which is being increasingly diagnosed due to the existing successful public health programme. Dapsone is a drug which holds unique pharmacological properties where it serves as both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents. Of its main adverse effects, agranulocytosis is a serious consequence which is reported mainly in adults and elderly. We report a 7-year-old child who sustained life-threatening skin and subcutaneous tissue sepsis because of dapsone-induced agranulocytosis. Besides, this case highlights the importance of meticulous monitoring of cell counts due to the risk of neutropenia and the natural history of cell recovery following occurrence of neutropenia. Though high mortality rate has been described in most of the similar cases reported, the child we describe made a complete recovery following severe neutropenic sepsis.
ISSN:1687-9627
1687-9635