A successful case of congenital agranulocytosis treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor]

A 1-month-old girl was admitted because of staphylococcal cellulitis of the buttock and the shoulder, and peripheral agranulocytosis. CBC on admission showed 10,100/microliters of WBC with 1% mature neutrophils, 5% monocytes, 6% eosinophils, 2% basophils and 86% lymphocytes. Bone marrow aspiration revealed maturation arrest of neutrophil precursors at the level of myelocyte. We treated the patient with subcutaneous rhG-CSF (Kirin-Amgen, Tokyo) for sequential 7-day course at the starting dose of 3 micrograms/kg, and increased weekly. The dose was escalated at the level of 18 micrograms/kg for 2 weeks subcutaneously, 8 days after effective dose of 18 micrograms/kg, the absolute neutrophil counts more than 1,000/microliters was attained, and bone marrow aspiration showed an increase of neutrophil precursors beyond the myelocyte level with maturation. Our case proved that both WBC and absolute neutrophil counts were increased parallel with the dose escalation of rhG-CSF. Shortly after the cessation of rhG-CSF, WBC and absolute neutrophil counts were decreased. No side effect was detected except for mild splenomegaly which was resolved after cessation of rhG-CSF. In methylcellulose culture with PHA-LCM, marrow cell of patient produced normal number of CFU-GM, and myeloid precursors could proliferate and differentiate to normal polymorphonuclear neutrophils, but rhG-CSF produced only small number of CFU-GM. Our case confirms that rhG-CSF is a new approach to control the life-threatening infection of congenital agranulocytosis.