Pancytopenia and Sepsis due to Meropenem: A Case Report

Meropenem is one of the most commonly used antibacterial agents with relatively few side effects. Serious adverse reactions reported with meropenem are rare with an incidence of 1%. Recently we came across two rare adverse effects of meropenem in one patient with acute renal failure. There was pancytopenia and sepsis, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, a only few cases have been reported in the literature that document an association between meropenem administration and pancytopenia, and about half of these cases were sepsis. With the use of meropenem becoming more widespread, these two rare but fatal complications of meropenem should be borne in mind.