Vancomycin-induced reversible pancytopenia and rash in a 16-month-old boy with osteomyelitis: A case report .

Objective: Vancomycin is a commonly used glycopeptide antibiotic due to its effectiveness in treating serious Gram-positive bacterial infections, especially methicillin-resistant (MRSA) infection. Pancytopenia is a rare, yet serious, complication of vancomycin. Previous isolated cases have been reported in adults but none in children.

Case Report: A 16-month-old boy received vancomycin for treatment of osteomyelitis caused by MRSA. During his administration of vancomycin, reversible pancytopenia, pulmonary infection, and skin rash developed, which resolved after withdrawal.

Conclusion: This is the first known case of vancomycin causing reversible pancytopenia and skin rash in a child, suggesting that pancytopenia caused by vancomycin could complicate treatment of children, and the hypothesis that pancytopenia is an immune-mediated reaction seems to be preferable. According to drug hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS) risk assessment in 10-D assessment system, this case was at grade of no risk.