Nejat Akar

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48 Letter to the EditorA note on oseltamivir treatment in a boy with G6PD deficiency G6PD eksikliúi olan bir erkek çocukta oseltamivir tedavisine iliýkin bir notNejat Akar Pediatric Hematology Department, Mesa Hospital, Ankara, TurkeyAddress for Correspondence: Prof. Nejat Akar, Koru Mah. 606. Sok. Uyum Sitesi 18. Çayyolu, Ankara,TürkiyePhone: +90 312 241 39 80 E-mail: akar@medicine.ankara.edu.trTo the Editor, During the pandemic influenza A, a five-year-old boy was admitted to the hospital with the complaints of high fever, cough and sneezing. Influenza virus analysis from the nasopha-ryngeal discharge was positive for influenza A virus. The patient previously had an acute hemolytic attack after eating fava beans, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency was later established. As he had proven influenza A virus, oseltamivir was started at a dose of 45 mg twice daily for five days. He was complete-ly normal after treatment. No hemolytic anemia occurred during oseltamivir treatment.G6PD deficiency is an X-linked inherited disease. A child with G6PD deficiency is clinically and hematologically normal during his life, but in a situation of ‘oxidative challenge’, caused by either fava beans or by certain drugs, acute hemolytic ane-mia occurs. Thus, several drugs should be avoided in G6PD-deficient subjects. Oseltamivir has not been tested on G6PD-deficient sub-jects, and G6PD-deficient individuals have been excluded from testing in ongoing studies. It is well known that G6PD deficiency is not rare in the Turkish population [1]. This case is reported in order to share experience, since there has been no report on the clinical usage of oseltamivir or any safety data regarding its usage in G6PD-deficient subjects. More data are necessary to reach a conclusion regarding the safety of oseltamivir therapy in G6PD-deficient individuals. References1.  Altay Ç, Gümrük F. Red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Turkey. Turk J Hematol 2008;25:1-7.

A note on oseltamivir treatment in a boy with G6PD deficiency

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