Dapsone hemolytic anemia with

Although dapsone (Avlosulfon) was once used in the treatment and prophylaxis of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum malaria, the toxicities associated with its administration (e.g., agranulocytosis, methemoglobinemia, hemolytic anemia) have severely reduced its use. 

The answers are 484-k, 483-j. (Hardman, pp 1061—1062, 1682-1683.) Sulfonamides can cause acute hemolytic anemia. In some patients it may be related to a sensitization phenomenon, and in other patients the hemolysis is due to a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. Sulfamethoxazole alone or in combination with trimethoprim is used to treat UTIs. The sulfonamide sulfasalazine is employed in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Dapsone, a drug that is used in the treatment of leprosy, and primaquine, an antimalarial agent, can produce hemolysis, particularly in patients with a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. 

Dapsone (Avlosulfon) is a member of a class of chemical agents known as the sulfones. Dapsone is especially effective against M. leprae and is used with rifampin as the primary method of treating leprosy. Dapsone appears to exert its antibacterial effects in a manner similar to that of the sulfonamide drugs that is, dapsone impairs folic acid synthesis by competing with PABA in bacterial cells. Primary adverse effects associated with dapsone include peripheral motor weakness, hypersensitivity reactions (skin rashes, itching), fever, and blood dyscrasias, such as hemolytic anemia. 

Dapsone (alone or in combination with pyrimethamine) can cause methemoglobinemia and hemolytic anemia. These complications tend to be dose-related and are more often encountered in G6PD-deficient subjects (SEDA-18, 287). 

Dapsone in combination with trimethoprim is also used for the treatment of mild to moderate first episodes of TCP, or alone for PCP prophylaxis [115, 198]. The most frequent adverse events are dose related metheglobinemia and hemolytic anemia. Since multi-drug therapy began to be used in leprosy patients, an increasing number of a rare, idiosyncratic reaction with multiorgan involvement... 

Dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia in lung transplant recipients who received dapsone for prophylaxis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia has been reported in a retrospective study of 43 patients, of whom 10 had hemolytic anemia without G6PD deficiency [55 ]. The mean fall in hemoglobin from baseline was 2.7 g/h (95% Cl = 1.9, 3.5). The odds ratio for hemolysis was 4.75 for each 1.0 mg/dl increase in serum creatinine (95% Cl = 1.07, 21). The authors concluded that the prevalence of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia in lung transplant recipients is five times higher than the reported rates for other groups who routinely use dapsone prophylaxis for Pneumocystis pneumonia and that individuals with renal insufficiency or low body weight and for whom the dose exceeds 1.5 mg/kg may be at increased risk of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia. 

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