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Published on: August 4, 2023
Occurrence of thrombocytopenia in psychiatric patients taking valproate
T J Trannel1, I Ahmed, D Goebert
1Hawaii State Psychiatric Hospital, Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA. ttrannel@gundluth.org
Objective:
Few studies, with conflicting results, have examined the occurrence of thrombocytopenia with valproate administration. This study assessed whether the platelet-lowering effects of valproate are increased among elderly psychiatric patients.
Method:
The charts of 39 psychiatric inpatients taking valproate were reviewed. Information on hematologic function and on doses and serum levels of valproate at sequential intervals over a 12-month period was abstracted. Data for subjects age <60 years (nonelderly subjects) and those age >/=60 years (elderly subjects) were compared.
Results:
More than half (53.8%) of the elderly patients but only 13.0% of the nonelderly patients had at least one episode of thrombocytopenia. This difference corresponded to a significantly greater lowering of platelet counts among elderly patients than among nonelderly patients.
Conclusions:
The high rate of thrombocytopenia in our study suggests the need for routine monitoring of platelet counts among patients taking valproate, particularly among elderly patients.
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