Side Effects of Vincristine and L-Asparaginase in Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in a Mexican Pediatric Hospital

The aim of this article is to determine the frequency of adverse reactions to chemotherapeutic drugs in children with lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Intensive pharmacovigilance was used to record the reports of adverse reactions to vincristine, L-asparaginase and the vincristine-L-asparaginase combin...

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Published in:Pharmacology & pharmacy 2013-06, Vol.4 (3), p.347-354
Main Authors: Ortiz, Mario I., Rivera-Roldán, Sandra, Escamilla-Acosta, Marco A., Romo-Hernández, Georgina, Ponce-Monter, Héctor A., Escárcega-Ángeles, Rita
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The aim of this article is to determine the frequency of adverse reactions to chemotherapeutic drugs in children with lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Intensive pharmacovigilance was used to record the reports of adverse reactions to vincristine, L-asparaginase and the vincristine-L-asparaginase combination in children with ALL in a paediatric hospital. Forty patients were evaluated. Twenty children were female and 20 were male. Vincristine was administered to 19 patients, vincristine plus L-asparaginase were given to 19 patients and only 2 patients used L-asparaginase. One-hundred-ninety adverse reactions were detected in the patients. One hundred eighty-one adverse reactions were identified as "definite", 5 as "probable" and 4 as "doubtful". In conclusion, there is a high incidence of adverse reactions by the administration of vincristine and L-asparaginase; the reactions of highest incidence were: nausea, vomiting, neutropenia, diarrhea, constipation, mucositis, headache, and abdominal pain.
ISSN:2157-9423
2157-9431
DOI:10.4236/pp.2013.43050