ABSTRACT
A 60-year-old rheumatoid arthritis (RA) female with lung fibrosis was treated with leflunomide (LEF) for only 12 days, and responded well. Twenty-five days after the withdrawal of the drug, she had fever, dyspnea, and an elevated serum C-reactive protein level. Chest CT revealed ground-glass opacities (GGOs) and consolidations forming a mosaic pattern, in lung fields including the upper, anterior and central areas, and honeycomb patterns in the lung bases and backs. The level of plasma A771726, an active metabolite of LEF, was still as high as that usually noted under LEF therapy. After pulsed steroid and cholestyramine administration, A771726 was depleted and she recovered. The peripheral blood lymphocyte count that had been approximately 1,000/microL, decreased to 220/microL just at the onset of lung injury, and rapidly and steadily returned to the preinjury level preceding recovery from the injury. Serum albumin level decreased in association with lung injury, and gradually returned to the preinjury level. Special caution is necessary when prescribing leflunomide to elderly patients with preexisting interstitial lung disease, and remains necessary until at least 1 month after its withdrawal.
Subject(s)
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/adverse effects , Isoxazoles/adverse effects , Lung Diseases, Interstitial/chemically induced , Pulmonary Fibrosis/drug therapy , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/administration & dosage , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/complications , Drug Administration Schedule , Female , Humans , Isoxazoles/administration & dosage , Leflunomide , Lung Diseases, Interstitial/blood , Lymphocyte Count , Middle Aged , Pulmonary Fibrosis/complicationsABSTRACT
We report herein a 19-year-old Japanese male with XYY syndrome who developed acute myelogenous leukemia. During three courses of cytotoxic chemotherapy, he suffered repeated hepatic and renal insufficiencies, possibly related to latent dysfunction from the XYY syndrome. The patient was treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor combined with etoposide, cytarabine, and busulfan (the latter adjusted to a targeting dose) followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. He had no severe regimen-related toxicities and is now free of leukemia.
