When should the clinician suspect a drug-induced blood dyscrasia, and how should he proceed?

The Clinical Challenge of Refractory Octreotide-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Active Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Case Report

The association between octreotide and thrombocytopenia has been documented in the literature but it remains a rare finding. We are reporting a 59-year-old female patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis who presented with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) bleeding secondary to esophageal varices. Initial management involved fluid and blood products resuscitation and initiation of both octreotide and pantoprazole infusion. However, the abrupt onset of severe thrombocytopenia was evident within a few hours of admission. Platelet transfusion and discontinuation of pantoprazole infusion failed to correct the abnormality prompting the holding off of octreotide. However, this also failed to control the decline in platelet count and prompted intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). This case helps to remind clinicians to closely monitor platelet count once octreotide is initiated. This allows early detection of the rare entity of octreotide-induced thrombocytopenia, which can be life-threatening with extremely low platelet count nadir.

Neutropenia and Thrombocytopenia Induced by Proton Pump Inhibitors: A Case Report

An 85-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of dysphagia, and was diagnosed with benign stricture of the esophagus. He was hospitalized repeatedly for balloon dilations. Pantoprazole sodium (80 mg, twice daily, intravenously) was administered each time when he was in hospital, while esomeprazole (20 mg/day, orally) was administered intermittently when he was at home. Reductions in both white blood cells and platelets were noticed about 4 months after proton pump inhibitors were introduced. Bone marrow suppression induced by proton pump inhibitors was diagnosed as proven by bone marrow biopsy. White blood cell, neutrophil, and platelet counts went back to the normal range after proton pump inhibitors were stopped. The present case shows a rare bi-cytopenia associated with proton pump inhibitors and suggests the importance of awareness of hematological adverse events during proton pump inhibitor therapy.

Inhibition of activated STAT5 in Bcr/Abl expressing leukemia cells with new pimozide derivatives

STATs are transcription factors acting as intracellular signaling after stimulation with cytokines, growth factors and hormones. STAT5 is also constitutively active in many forms of cancers, including chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Recently, literature reported that the neuroleptic drug pimozide inhibits STAT5 phosphorylation inducing apoptosis in CML cells. We undertook an investigation from pimozide structure, obtaining simple derivatives with cytotoxic and STAT5-inhibitory activity, two of them markedly more potent than pimozide.