Rashes and blood dyscrasias are disconcerting adverse effects associated with carbamazepine therapy.
Rashes are quite common, as are mild blood dyscrasias, such as mild leukopenias.
Fortunately, severe rashes and blood dyscrasias are rare. We report two cases of concomitant rashes and blood dyscrasias in geriatric psychiatry patients receiving carbamazepine therapy for bipolar disorder. One patient was found to have a severe leukopenia within several days after rash onset. The other patient was discovered to have a severe leukopenia and thrombocytopenia within about a month after rash onset. Current hematologic monitoring guidelines for carbamazepine rely heavily on the recognition of signs and symptoms of blood dyscrasias by clinicians and patients.