Chloramphenicol injection may cause a decrease in the number of certain types of blood cells in the body. In some cases, people who experienced this decrease in blood cells later developed leukemia (cancer that begins in the white blood cells). You may experience this decrease in blood cells whether you are being treated with chloramphenicol for a long time or a short time. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: pale skin; excessive tiredness; shortness of breath; dizziness; fast heartbeat; unusual bruising or bleeding; or signs of infection such as sore throat, fever, cough, and chills.
Your doctor will order laboratory tests regularly during your treatment to check whether the number of blood cells in your body has decreased. You should know that these tests do not always detect changes in the body that may lead to a permanent decrease in the number of blood cells. It is best that you receive chloramphenicol injection in the hospital so that you can be closely monitored by your doctor.
Chloramphenicol injection should not be used when another antibiotic can treat your infection. It must not be used to treat minor infections, colds, flu, throat infections or to prevent the development of an infection.
Talk to your doctor about the risks of receiving chloramphenicol injection.
National Library of Medicine | National Institutes of Health | Department of Health and Human Services
