HLA-DR antigens in gold-induced neutropenia

We studied the clinical courses of 9 patients who developed acute gold-induced neutropenia with marrow aplasia. Eight of these carried HLA-DR4, compared with only 2 of 9 who had mild, chronic, isolated neutropenia (P less than 0.05). Only 1 of 9 patients with myelotoxicity carried HLA-DR3. We conclude that these groups are immunogenetically distinct, and that HLA-DR3 is not a significant risk factor for severe gold-induced neutropenia.