Abstract

Hydroxyurea-induced cyclic thrombocytopenia in polycythemia vera

Author(s): Karlton Wong* andMichael H Rosove

Hydroxyurea is an orally administered medication that is frequently used in the treatment of myeloproliferative disorders as well as sickle cell disease. Cyclical thrombocytopenia during hydroxyurea therapy is an unusual and largely under-recognized side effect. We herein describe a case of a 66-year-old man with polycythemia vera who was started on hydroxyurea, and who subsequently developed platelet count oscillations with peak platelet levels as high as 2900 × 109 /L, and nadirs as low as 8 × 109 /L. We also performed a literature review of the currently published cases of hydroxyurea-induced cyclic thrombocytopenia.