title: A patient with agranulocytosis following the discontinuation of methimazole treatment for 4 months: A case report.
abstract: Agranulocytosis is a rare and serious adverse effect of antithyroid drugs (ATD), in particular methimazole (MMI), and usually develops within 3 months following the start of uninterrupted ATD treatment. Agranulocytosis may also develop for the first time following interruption and subsequent resumption of the same ATD treatment. In this case report, a 27-year-old female, who was treated for thyrotoxicosis with MMI, developed agranulocytosis following the discontinuation of MMI treatment for four months. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report this. The aim of this report is to increase the awareness of physicians of the onset of agranulocytosis when MMI is discontinued, and to demonstrate that MMI should be used with caution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, People's Hospital Of New District Longhua Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518109, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Su
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, People's Hospital Of New District Longhua Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518109, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Jing-Hai
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, People's Hospital Of New District Longhua Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518109, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Shao-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Xiao
keywords: agranulocytosis; hyperthyroidism; methimazole