APLASTIC ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH ADMINISTRATION OF CHLORAMPHENICOL

Abstract

One of the most frustrating of the problems that confront the hematologist always has been aplastic anemia. He thinks that somewhere in the patient's environment may be an agent responsible for the suppression or failure of the bone marrow and that, if the agent could but be found and removed, recovery might result. Seldom is such an agent found although occasionally some new commercial solvent, some new commercial process using old solvents, or some new drugs introduced into the therapeutic field prove to have toxic effect. Individual idiosyncrasy for many of these agents, however, complicates the problem tremendously. General experience in the past has shown that even though newly introduced drugs are stated, on the basis of careful experimental and clinical study, to have no injurious effect on hematopoietic tissues, long and extensive clinical administration may be required before possible sensitivity reactions are demonstrated. This is probably best shown by