Hematopoietic toxicity assessments

While ertapenem possesses toxicity similar to the beta-lactam group of antibiotics, periodic assessment of organ system function, including renal, hepatic, and hematopoietic, is advisable during prolonged therapy. 

Molecules that damage or affect normal bone marrow functions may induce immunotoxicity as well, since bone marrow is the site of hematopoiesis. Clinical manifestations of drug-induced myelotoxicity include peripheral pancytopenia if stan cells or all hematopoietic lineages are involved or anemia, leukopenia, and/or thrombocytopenia, if only specific lineages are affected (Carey, 2(X)3 Evans, 2008). Typical bone marrow culture assays focus on granulocyte, monocyte, megakaryocyte, and/ or erythroid lineages. Lymphopoiesis can be evaluated by other functional assays such as lymphocyte proliferation assays, which may include assessment of proliferation of individual lymphoid subsets. For more details on assessment of bone marrow toxicity, please see ChapterIV.il. 

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