[Immune hemolytic anemia induced by drugs]

Drugs may induce immune destruction of red blood cells through either autoantibody formation or antibody formation against the drug or its metabolites. In the former scheme the drug is believed to induce autoimmunization by causing some central dysregulation of the immune system the mechanism of which is still unclear. In the latter, data have been accumulating during the last decade pertaining to clinical manifestations, incriminated drugs, and immunohematologic diagnosis. The sharp specificity and individual variations of drug specific antibodies as well as the recognition of the receptor role of red cell blood group antigens explaining the involvement of red cells in drug-antidrug complexes are among the recent achievements in the knowledge of these anemias.