Agranulocytosis Associated With Psychiatric Polypharmacy: Lessons Learned From a Clinical Case.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-22-2024

Abstract

Psychiatric polypharmacy involves the use of two or more psychotropic medications to manage a mental and emotional condition. The prevalence of psychotropic polypharmacy has been increasing since the 1990s and has been attributed to the rise in multiple psychiatric conditions presenting in one patient. However, as the prevalence of polypharmacy increases to maximize therapeutic advantages, so does the adverse effect profile of those drugs used in combination, leading to very life-threatening effects such as agranulocytosis. Thus, we report a case of agranulocytosis secondary to polypharmacy in a patient with a history of multiple complex psychiatric conditions. The patient is a 20-year-old female with a past medical history of major depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, hypothyroidism, and ulcerative colitis. Her psychiatric conditions were managed with multiple medications including chlorpromazine, and clozapine was recently added a month prior to admission. Upon admission, the patient was hemodynamically stable and febrile, with complaints of generalized body aches and myalgia. Laboratory results showed profound leukopenia with a white blood cell count of 1.0x10

Publication Title

Cureus

Volume

16

Issue

3

First Page

56701

Last Page

56701

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