Emtricitabine-induced pure red cell aplasia

INTRODUCTIONAnemia is common in HIV. Parvo B19 infection is a well-recognised cause of red cell aplasia. Other causes of persistent pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) include anti-retroviral drugs such as zidovudine and lamivudine. We describe a case of PRCA that strongly implicates emtricitabine as the p...

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Published inSouthern African journal of HIV medicine Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 983
Main Authors Manickchund, Nithendra, du Plessis, Camille, John, Melanie-Anne A, Manzini, Thandekile C, Gosnell, Bernadett I, Lessells, Richard J, Moosa, Yunus S
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.01.2019
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Summary:INTRODUCTIONAnemia is common in HIV. Parvo B19 infection is a well-recognised cause of red cell aplasia. Other causes of persistent pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) include anti-retroviral drugs such as zidovudine and lamivudine. We describe a case of PRCA that strongly implicates emtricitabine as the probable cause. PATIENT PRESENTATIONPatient was HIV positive and on treatment with a fixed drug combination consisting of tenofovir, emtricitabine and efavirenz for 3 months when she developed severe transfusion dependent anemia. The anemia, attributed to PRCA, was persistent and transfusion dependent for about one year. MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOMEReplacement of emtricitabine with abacavir resulted in a prompt, complete and lasting resolution of the anaemia, suggesting an etiologic role of emtricitabine in the PRCA. CONCLUSIONEmtricitibine is a rare cause of pure red cell aplasia.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Case Study-2
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ISSN:2078-6751
DOI:10.4102/sajhivmed.v20i1.983