GRANULOCYTOPENIA CAUSED BY SULFAPYRIDINE IN CHILDREN

Practically every case of granulocytopenia can be traced to an underlying sensitivity to certain drugs, such as aminopyrine, arsphenamine, dinitrophenol and, more recently, sulfanilamide. The introduction of sulfapyridine as a therapeutic agent in pneumonia has led to its widespread use. Wien, 1 experimenting with mice and rats, concluded that sulfapyridine is one fourth as toxic as sulfanilamide and that it has no apparent effect on the hemopoietic system. There is reason to believe that sulfapyridine is as toxic as sulfanilamide for the bone marrow, or more toxic, since we have observed ten cases of granulocytopenia (including one in a child) in the past two years. However, we have in the past few months observed three cases of granulocytopenia in children following the administration of sulfapyridine. This, in fact, is the purpose of the present communication—to call attention to the danger of employing sulfapyridine over prolonged or intermittent periods unless careful