Hyperleukocytosis during clozapine treatment: A rare presentation of B-cell Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Clozapine has been widely used as an antipsychotic drug for the treatment of refractory schizophrenia. Unfortunately, a wide range of blood dyscrasias have been reported as adverse effects of this drug. Agranulocytosis has gotten the most clinical vigilance; however, there are substantial reports of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Neslyne B Augustin, Michael Maroules
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
Series:Leukemia Research Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213048921000200
Description
Summary:Clozapine has been widely used as an antipsychotic drug for the treatment of refractory schizophrenia. Unfortunately, a wide range of blood dyscrasias have been reported as adverse effects of this drug. Agranulocytosis has gotten the most clinical vigilance; however, there are substantial reports of other blood dyscrasias associated with Clozapine some more serious than others. Of relevance, there have been previous claims of Clozapine-associated leukocytosis and acute myeloid leukemia. We report the case of a 31-year-old patient who developed Acute lymphoblastic leukemia shortly after starting treatment with Clozapine for refractory schizophrenia. We suggest Clozapine may play a causal role in the development of leukemias in patients taking this medication and we encourage vigilance for such correlation.
ISSN:2213-0489