Neutropenia associated with chrysotherapy for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Severe neutropenia, in the absence of generalized bone marrow depression, is a rare complication in adults receiving chrysotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis and has not been described in children. Isolated, severe neutropenia developed in five children with systemic onset JRA while they were receiving gold injections. This potentially fatal complication occurred within eight weeks of beginning therapy in four patients, and after 24 weeks of well-tolerated therapy in the fifth. Leukopenia preceded neutropenia in two children. Localized infection was successfully treated in one child; septicemia was fatal to a second child. Neutropenia resolved within eight to 14 days of its onset in the four survivors; chelation with dimercaprol in one child did not appear to alter the recovery time. It is suggested that a systemic onset of JRA in children less than 6 years of age identifies a higher risk group developing severe neutropenia during chrysotherapy. Cessation of gold therapy upon recognition of a decreasing neutrophil count may prevent or ameliorate a developing neutropenia; careful observation for, and early treatment of, infection may alter its outcome.