Pancytopenia associated with administration of captopril to a dog

An 11-year-old castrated male Dachshund was determined to have pancytopenia on the basis of results of CBC and bone marrow cytologic examination. Pancytopenia was believed to have resulted from administration of captopril, which had been administered for treatment of chronic mitral insufficiency, because other causes of pancytopenia were not found. Treatment consisted of discontinuing captopril and stimulating the bone marrow with recombinant human erythropoietin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Although neutralizing antibodies will develop against the heterologous human protein, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor should be considered for short-term treatment of neutropenias associated with adverse drug reactions, canine parvovirus infections, and bone marrow suppression from primary bone marrow disease, cancer chemotherapy, or total body irradiation before bone marrow transplantation.