Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic with superior efficacy in the treatment of refractory schizophrenia. But it can cause agranulocytosis, which occurs in one to two percent of patients. This paper was prepared to discuss the condoned and controversial issues of therapy with this drug, but only within a haematological context. The feasibility of attempting therapeutically controversial blood monitoring regimes, as opposed to following standardised Western guidelines, given the differences in terms of accessibility, convenience and financial considerations between the public and private sector medical care will also be discussed. The proposal of adopting a structured pro forma, with a risk-benefit assessment, in the event of unavoidable veering from the guidelines may allay medicolegal implications, especially in countries where blood monitoring is not mandatory. It is hoped that this article will stimulate further research in our region, bearing in mind the increasing awareness and focus on genetic polymorphism, and the possibility of drawing up our own monitoring guidelines in the near future.
Agranulocytosis is a rare complication of ticlopidine and can be life-threatening. We report a case of ticlopidine-induced agranulocytosis and neutropenia (neutrophil count of 0.1 x 10(9)/L) with necrotizing gingivitis in a 54-year-old Malaysian-Chinese female. She was started on ticlopidine 250 mg twice daily 3 weeks prior to this hospital admission. We started her on intravenous metronidazole and amoxicillin and clavulanic acid (Augmentin) and concurrently stopped ticlopidine. A series of clinical and laboratory investigations were carried out and a final diagnosis of necrotizing gingivitis possibly secondary to agranulocytosis was made. The patient was discharged home after 2 weeks of hospitalisation.