T J Trannel1, I Ahmed, D Goebert. 1. Hawaii State Psychiatric Hospital, Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA. ttrannel@gundluth.org
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Few studies, with conflicting results, have examined the occurrence of thrombocytopenia with valproate administration. This study assessed whether the platelet-lowering effects of valproate are increased among elderly psychiatric patients. METHOD: The charts of 39 psychiatric inpatients taking valproate were reviewed. Information on hematologic function and on doses and serum levels of valproate at sequential intervals over a 12-month period was abstracted. Data for subjects age <60 years (nonelderly subjects) and those age >/=60 years (elderly subjects) were compared. RESULTS: More than half (53.8%) of the elderly patients but only 13.0% of the nonelderly patients had at least one episode of thrombocytopenia. This difference corresponded to a significantly greater lowering of platelet counts among elderly patients than among nonelderly patients. CONCLUSIONS: The high rate of thrombocytopenia in our study suggests the need for routine monitoring of platelet counts among patients taking valproate, particularly among elderly patients.
OBJECTIVE: Few studies, with conflicting results, have examined the occurrence of thrombocytopenia with valproate administration. This study assessed whether the platelet-lowering effects of valproate are increased among elderly psychiatricpatients. METHOD: The charts of 39 psychiatric inpatients taking valproate were reviewed. Information on hematologic function and on doses and serum levels of valproate at sequential intervals over a 12-month period was abstracted. Data for subjects age <60 years (nonelderly subjects) and those age >/=60 years (elderly subjects) were compared. RESULTS: More than half (53.8%) of the elderly patients but only 13.0% of the nonelderly patients had at least one episode of thrombocytopenia. This difference corresponded to a significantly greater lowering of platelet counts among elderly patients than among nonelderly patients. CONCLUSIONS: The high rate of thrombocytopenia in our study suggests the need for routine monitoring of platelet counts among patients taking valproate, particularly among elderly patients.
Authors: Lakshmi N Yatham; Sidney H Kennedy; Sagar V Parikh; Ayal Schaffer; David J Bond; Benicio N Frey; Verinder Sharma; Benjamin I Goldstein; Soham Rej; Serge Beaulieu; Martin Alda; Glenda MacQueen; Roumen V Milev; Arun Ravindran; Claire O'Donovan; Diane McIntosh; Raymond W Lam; Gustavo Vazquez; Flavio Kapczinski; Roger S McIntyre; Jan Kozicky; Shigenobu Kanba; Beny Lafer; Trisha Suppes; Joseph R Calabrese; Eduard Vieta; Gin Malhi; Robert M Post; Michael Berk Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2018-03-14 Impact factor: 6.744