Amiodarone-Induced Neutropenia: An Uncommon Side Effect of a Common Drug

Curēus
Akshay Kohli, Avinash V Sharma

Abstract

Amiodarone is widely used as an antiarrhythmic agent for the treatment of both supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias in various inpatient as well as outpatient settings. Classified as a class III antiarrhythmic agent, it acts mainly by inhibition of potassium channels in the cardiac muscle. Adverse effects are quite common and usually involve pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, dermatologic, or neuromuscular systems. Although hematologic side effects including thrombocytopenia have also been reported, amiodarone-induced neutropenia is quite rare. We present a case of amiodarone-induced neutropenia in a 66-year-old Caucasian gentleman. He presented to our hospital with cardiac arrest due to ventricular-fibrillation and had received amiodarone as a part of his therapy. His hospital course was complicated by neutropenia which was found to have a clear temporal relation with amiodarone. His initial white blood cell count was 6400/mm3 with an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of 4800/mm3. His ANC started to downtrend and reached a nadir of 400/mm3 at day six of therapy. This improved significantly after stopping amiodarone, without any change in other medications. Given the rapid improvement of his neutropenia with the disc...Continue Reading

References

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BETA
biopsy

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