BACKGROUND: Sinomenine hydrochloride is an alkaloid that is extracted from the Chinese herbal plant Sinomenium acutum, and is used as a herbal medicine in the treatment or rheumatic disease. This report is the first to describe a case of sinomenine hydrochloride-induced agranulocytosis.

CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) was treated with sinomenine hydrochloride and developed agranulocytosis with a neutrophil count of 0.01×10^9/L. She subsequently developed an opportunistic bacterial infection. Bone marrow aspiration showed a severe reduction in the proportion of mature granulocytes. The patient discontinued sinomenine hydrochloride therapy and was treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and antibiotics. The patient showed a return to normal granulocyte levels within ten days of discontinuing treatment with sinomenine hydrochloride.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this case report show that monitoring of bone marrow function and granulocyte levels should be performed during treatment with sinomenine hydrochloride.

Keywords: agranulocytosis, Opportunistic Infections, Sinomenium