High prevalence of Dapsone-induced oxidant hemolysis in North American SCT recipients without glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency

Bone Marrow Transplant. 2012 Mar;47(3):399-403. doi: 10.1038/bmt.2011.83. Epub 2011 Apr 11.

Abstract

Dapsone (4-4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone) is commonly used for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis in immunocompromised patients. Oxidant hemolysis is a known complication of dapsone, but its frequency in adult patients who have undergone a SCT for hematological malignancies is not well established. We studied the presence of oxidant hemolysis, by combining examination of RBC morphology and laboratory data, in 30 patients who underwent a SCT and received dapsone for PCP prophylaxis, and compared this group with 26 patients who underwent a SCT and received trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for PCP prophylaxis. All patients had normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) enzymatic activity. In SCT patients, dapsone compared with TMP-SMX for PCP prophylaxis was associated with a high incidence of oxidant hemolysis (87 vs 0%, P<0.001), and the morphological evaluation of oxidant hemolysis correlated well with laboratory evidence of hemolysis. Dapsone-induced oxidant hemolysis in SCT patients is 20-fold higher than the reported rate in the population of HIV-infected patients, and thus much higher than the prevalence of G6PDH variants in the general population. In our patients, it manifested clinically as a lower Hb that was not significant enough to result in increased packed RBC transfusions.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology
  • Dapsone / pharmacology*
  • Dapsone / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / metabolism*
  • Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency / diagnosis*
  • Hemoglobins / metabolism
  • Hemolysis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • North America
  • Oxidants / chemistry*
  • Oxidants / metabolism
  • Prevalence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Stem Cell Transplantation / methods*
  • Time Factors
  • Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / pharmacology

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Hemoglobins
  • Oxidants
  • Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination
  • Dapsone
  • Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase