Open AccessAzathioprine-induced alopecia: rare adverse event early marker of myelotoxicity
Author(s) -
Juan Antonio Vázquez Rodríguez,
Esther Merino Gallego,
Antonio José Baños Arévalo,
Fernando Sánchez Sánchez,
Leticia Miras Lucas,
Álvaro Pérez González
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista española de enfermedades digestivas/revista española de enfermedades digestivas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.331
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 2340-4167
pISSN - 1130-0108
DOI - 10.17235/reed.2021.8175/2021
Subject(s) - medicine , azathioprine , thiopurine methyltransferase , adverse effect , hair loss , ulcerative colitis , inflammatory bowel disease , scalp , dermatology , side effect (computer science) , gastroenterology , disease , computer science , programming language
Though not exempt from adverse events, azathioprine (AZA) is an inexpensive and effective drug in the induction and maintenance treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We present the case of a 20-year-old female patient with left-side ulcerative colitis in whom AZA was started at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg/day due to dependence on corticoids (thiopurine methyltransferase activity: 14.9 U/mL). Two weeks after starting treatment she began to report excessive hair loss, resulting in an almost complete loss of scalp hair.