Agranulocytosis and Hepatitis as a Result of Mexican Drug Therapy

Abstract

A 26-year-old woman with debilitating juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was treated at a Mexican arthritis clinic with two unknown medications. She subsequently developed agranulocytosis and cholestatic hepatitis as an adverse reaction to these drugs, later identified as oxyphenbutazone and diazepam. The etiology of these drug-induced problems is reviewed, and the dangers of this unorthodox form of medical therapy are discussed.