1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-8-69-a 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-8-9-7 Antiepileptic Drugs Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Aplastic Anemia with Ethosuximide http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 09 1994 01 06 2016 8 9 69 69 Copyright: © 1994 The Author(s) 1994 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Aplastic anemia following therapy for absence seizures with ethosuximide

An 8-year-old girl who developed aplastic anemia after 8 months ethosuximide therapy for absence seizures is reported from the Children’s Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA.

 Aplastic Anemia Streptococcal Pharyngitis Petechiae

An 8-year-old girl who developed aplastic anemia after 8 months ethosuximide therapy for absence seizures is reported from the Children’s Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA. Blood counts and liver enzymes had been monitored 3 months before admission and were normal. She presented with fatigue, headache, streptococcal pharyngitis, hematuria, bruising, and petechiae. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation was required and the child recovered. Without further AED therapy she has only occasional “staring spells” and the EEG is normal. A total of 8 cases of ethosuximide-associated aplastic anemia have been reported, and 5 died. [1]

COMMENT. Ethosuximide-related aplastic anemia is rare but has a high mortality. Monthly blood counts have been recommended, but their predictive value is questioned by the authors. Fever, rash, bruising, and petechiae should certainly require immediate investigation.

 Massey GV Dunn NL Heckel JL Myer EC Russell EC Aplastic anemia following therapy for absence seizures with ethosuximide Pediatr Neurol 1994 Jul 11 1 59 61 10.1016/0887-8994(94)90093-0 7986296