GM-CSF therapy for drug-induced agranulocytosis

Five patients with drug-induced agranulocytosis were treated with recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)). With the exception of one patient who experienced a very short period of neutropenia, GM-CSF did not appear to alter the natural course of the disease. From our experience and from a critical review of the literature we conclude that the efficacy of GM-CSF in agranulocytosis is far from certain, and that the use of growth factors in this condition remains investigational.