Background:
Piperacillin (and piperacillin/tazobactam) is a commonly prescribed antibiotic and is generally considered safe. We report a case of piperacillin induced bone marrow suppression.
Case presentation:
A 19-year-old boy was being treated with piperacillin followed by piperacillin/tazobactam for infected pancreatic pseudocyst. After 21 days of treatment, he developed neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. These reversed promptly after stopping piperacillin/tazobactam. The time course of events suggested that piperacillin was the cause of bone marrow suppression in this patient.
Conclusion:
Bone marrow suppression is a serious adverse effect of piperacillin, which should be kept in mind while treating patients with this drug.