[Hematologic toxicity of antidepressive agents]

Abstract

Drug-induced hematological disorders appear as a rare but serious side effect of the drugs use. According to studies, their frequency is estimated between one and two cases per year for 100,000 subjects, and their mortality is fluctuating between 8 and 17%. Granulocytopenic disorders seem to be responsible for the largest part of that death rate. Antidepressant drugs whose hematotoxicity seems the most frequent are indalpin, mianserin and nomifensin. Nomifensin can induce immunohemolytic anemia, whereas indalpin and mianserin have been at the origin of granulocytopenic disorders. The hematotoxicity of indalpin and mianserin is observed preferentially on elderly female subjects, as observed with most of the compounds responsible for drug-induced hematological disorders.