Neutropenia after single-dose clindamycin for dental prophylaxis

A 68-year-old man with stable chronic myelogenous leukemia received a single dose of clindamycin before having a tooth extracted. He was neutropenic 6 days later, with an absolute neutrophil count of 945 cells/mm3. His neutrophil count returned to normal within 2 weeks. Clindamycin has been implicated in drug-induced neutropenia; however, a review of the literature produced only three reports of this reaction. Only one provided the duration of the neutropenia. To our knowledge, this case report is only the second that provides the duration of the clindamycin-induced neutropenia. Clinicians should be made aware of this potential adverse event.