Safety of inadvertent administration of overdose of intrathecal Cytarabine in a pediatric patient

Abstract

Purpose To describe a medication error of intrathecal Cytarabine overdose that was managed conservatively with no apparent toxicities. Summary An 11-year-old girl was diagnosed with bone marrow relapsed precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. According to her chemotherapy protocol, she was started on triple intrathecal chemotherapy consisting of Methotrexate, Cytarabine and Hydrocortisone on day 1 of the protocol. After the intrathecal therapy being administered to the patient, the pharmacist who checked the medication realized that the wrong formulation of Cytarabine was used to prepare the intrathecal therapy; this error resulted in five times overdose of Cytarabine. The patient was then managed conservatively without cerebrospinal fluid exchange. Our patient remained clinically and neurologically stable without apparent toxicities and was discharged safely from hospital. Conclusion Supportive care without the need for invasive procedures such as cerebrospinal fluid exchange may be adequate for managing intrathecal Cytarabine overdose.