Abstract

MANICKCHUND, Nithendra et al. Emtricitabine-induced pure red cell aplasia. South. Afr. j. HIV med. (Online) [online]. 2019, vol.20, n.1, pp.1-3. ISSN 2078-6751.  https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v20i1.983.

INTRODUCTION: Anemia 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 PRESENTATION: Patient 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 outcome: Replacement of emtricitabine with abacavir resulted in a prompt, complete and lasting resolution of the anaemia, suggesting an etiologic role of emtricitabine in the PRCA. CONCLUSION: Emtricitibine is a rare cause of pure red cell aplasia

Keywords : emtricitabine; pure red cell aplasia; drug induced; rare drug toxicity; adverse drug reaction; antiretroviral.

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