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agranulocytosis |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
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agranulocytosis (əgrăn'yəlōsītō`sis), disease in which the production of granulated white blood cells by the bone marrow is impaired. Although the disease may occur spontaneously it is usually induced by exposure to antithyroid drugs, sulfonamides, phenothiazines, chemotherapy, and radiation therapies. Granulocytes protect the body against infectious agents; their depletion results in severe respiratory infections, ulceration of the mouth and colon, high fever, and prostration. These symptoms may occur suddenly or over a period of days or weeks. Penicillin is usually the drug of choice to combat the bacterial invasion. Treatment may require bone marrow transplants to start the production of healthy white blood cells. The fatality rate is high (approaching 80%) in untreated cases, and deaths are common even with antibiotic treatment. agranulocytosis [¦a‚gran·yə·lō‚sī′tō·səs] (medicine) An acute febrile illness, usually resulting from drug hypersensitivity, manifested as severe leukopenia, often with complete disappearance of granulocytes. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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78650 Chest pain unsp V717 Observe susp Cardiovas dis
78659 Chest pain oth sp 78651 Precordial pain
LOOK FOR: anemia, pancytopenia, aplastic anemia, dehydration,
malnutrition, Agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, bleeding, obstruction,
resp comp, aspiration, complex pneumonia, (gram-neg. For example, clozapine can cause sedation or
anticholinergic effects, as well as increased agranulocytosis and
delirium in older patients. The first of
these, clozapine (Clozaril[R]), has been shown to be more effective than
other antipsychotics, although the possibility of severe side effects --
in particular, a condition called agranulocytosis (loss of the white
blood cells that fight infection) -- requires that patients be monitored
with blood tests every one or two weeks. |
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