Abstract
Aplastic anemia is a rare side-effect associated with ticlopidine therapy. We
report two cases of severe aplastic anemia developed after the use of
ticlopidine. A 51-year-old woman took ticlopidine at 500 mg/day for 49 days to
prevent a secondary stroke. She developed fever and dizziness within 49 days of
initiating ticlopidine therapy. A 70-year-old woman was started on ticlopidine
after coronary stent insertion. Fifty days after starting ticlopidine, she
developed fever and dizziness. Both patients showed pancytopenia and were
diagnosed as aplastic anemia which were confirmed by bone marrow examination.
Both patients were hospitalized and received antibiotics, blood products and
hematopoietic growth factors. Four and seven weeks after the withdrawal of
ticlopidine, the hematologic parameters of each patient improved. A complete
blood count should be monitored during ticlopidine therapy to check for
cytopenia.