Abstract
Antiepileptic therapy is associated with various hematologic disorders. Pure red cell
aplasia (PRCA) is a rare disease that may be congenital or acquired. Severe normocytic
anemia, reticulocytopenia, and absence of erythroblasts from an otherwise normal bone
marrow should raise the suspicion of PRCA. A 32-year-old unmarried woman was admitted
with fatigue for 4 months. She had been on carbamazepine therapy for 4 years (200
mg twice daily) for seizure disorder. On evaluation, she was diagnosed to have PRCA
secondary to carbamazepine. We describe a patient with carbamazepine-induced PRCA
that improved after discontinuation of the drug.
Keywords
antiepileptic therapy - carbamazepine - pure red cell aplasia
