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Side-effects of Amphotericin B lipid complex (Abelcet) in the Scandinavian population

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 25, pages 341–342 (2000)Cite this article

In a recent report, severe and common side-effects were reported from 19 patients treated with amphotericin B lipid complex (Abelcet) at Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden and at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.1 Abelcet was discontinued in 14/19 patients, mainly due to renal toxicity, increase in bilirubin, erythema, and infusion-related symptoms, such as fever, chills, and severe vomiting. It was hypothesised that Scandinavian people might be more sensitive to Abelcet than those from the UK and the USA23 and other colleagues were encouraged to report their experiences.

In December 1998 at the University Hospital in Uppsala, 21 patients had been treated with Abelcet since the drug was licensed in Sweden in May 1996. There were eight females and 13 males with a median age of 42 years (range 16–66 years). All except three were Scandinavian. The others came from Bangladesh (n = 1) and the former Yugoslavia (n = 2). Underlying diseases in these patients were acute myeloid leukaemia (n = 9), chronic myeloid leukaemia (n = 7), unclassified myeloproliferative disease (n = 1), aplastic anaemia (n = 2), sarcoidosis (n = 1), and Goodpasture's syndrome (n = 1). Fifteen patients had undergone transplantation: renal transplantation in two, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in 12, and autologous stem cell transplantation in one patient. Six patients were treated with chemotherapy. Cyclosporin A was concomitantly given to 13 patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden

    M Furebring & J Sjölin

  2. Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden

    G Öberg

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  1. M Furebring
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  2. G Öberg
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  3. J Sjölin
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Furebring, M., Öberg, G. & Sjölin, J. Side-effects of Amphotericin B lipid complex (Abelcet) in the Scandinavian population. Bone Marrow Transplant 25, 341–342 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1702156

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1702156

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