ISSN:
1365-2133
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
A male patient aged 68 years, suffering from pyoderma gangrenosum which was resistant to conventional treatment, received clofazimine 400 mg daily for 5 months, then reducing to 300 mg daily for the next 6 months. Eleven months after starting the drug, he was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal pain, laparotomy revealing infarction of the spleen, with violaceous congestion of the small bowel. The spleen was removed and post-operative recovery was satisfactory. Histopathological examination of the spleen (removed at operation) and of tissue from a duodenal biopsy (taken postoperatively) showed large numbers of striations and outlines suggestive of crystal deposition. Mesenteric lymph node revealed a massive accumulation of crystals in cortical and medullary sinuses. The findings emphasize that clofazimine should not be used in high dosage over prolonged periods of time, except under close clinical and laboratory supervision, and for conditions not amenable to other drugs.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1980.tb05697.x
