Does long-term chloramphenicol cause anaemia in Malawi?

Common clinical practice in many tropical paediatric departments is that chloramphenicol courses are limited to 2 weeks due to concerns about anaemia. However, this approach is not supported by current research and animal models. We used chloramphenicol for 6 weeks in 146 children with septic arthri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical doctor 2006-04, Vol.36 (2), p.114-115
Main Authors: PEEK, A. C, LAVY, C. B. D, THYOKA, M, PITANI, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anemia - chemically induced
Anemias. Hemoglobinopathies
Arthritis, Infectious - drug therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
Chloramphenicol - administration & dosage
Chloramphenicol - adverse effects
Diseases of red blood cells
Follow-Up Studies
Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases
Hemoglobins - metabolism
Humans
Infant
Malawi
Medical sciences
Protein Synthesis Inhibitors - administration & dosage
Protein Synthesis Inhibitors - adverse effects
Salmonella Infections - drug therapy
Time Factors
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:Common clinical practice in many tropical paediatric departments is that chloramphenicol courses are limited to 2 weeks due to concerns about anaemia. However, this approach is not supported by current research and animal models. We used chloramphenicol for 6 weeks in 146 children with septic arthritis. All the children improved clinically. Most children were anaemic on presentation (mean haemoglobin [Hb] 8.43 SD 1.9), but the anaemia improved rapidly with clinical resolution of the infection and was maintained at 6 months after presentation (mean Hb 10.57 SD 1.86).
ISSN:0049-4755
1758-1133
DOI:10.1258/004947506776593549