Captopril-induced pancytopenia in a premature newborn.

A preterm infant with renovascular hypertension who developed significant trilineage bone marrow suppression after receiving captopril is reported. Captopril-associated pancytopenia is a very rare complication that was thought to be dose-related and usually caused by accumulation of the drug through defective renal tubular excretion. In our patient, it appears that the combination of renal artery stenosis and renal tubular dysfunction of prematurity might have led to pancytopenia. Captopril should be used with caution especially in premature babies and newborns with underlying renal or renovascular disease even if they do not have overt renal dysfunction. Monitorization of these babies with creatinine clearance or free serum captopril levels may help to establish accumulation of the drug before causing pancytopenia.