In the eleven years since the first clinical use1 of phenindione (2 phenyl-1,3 indandione)* as a hypoprothrombinemic agent, there have been five case reports of agranulocytosis,2-5 one of severe neutropenia (but with eosinophilia),6 and one of granulocytopenia 7 associated with the use of this drug; one death was attributable to this complication. The following report concerns another case of agranulocytosis associated with phenindione therapy in which recovery occurred.
Report of Case
A 49-year-old white woman entered the Boston City Hospital for the ninth time on May 3, 1958, because of dyspnea. Previous admissions were for decompensated rheumatic heart disease. Eleven weeks preceding this admission, she had entered the surgical service with an embolus to the right femoral artery, for which a successful embolectomy was performed. Her recovery was uneventful, and she was discharged taking phenindione, 50 mg. twice daily, digitalis folia, 0.1 gm. daily, and oral penicillin