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Pancreatic enzyme counselling — GPhC CRA MCQ

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HardGastrointestinal TherapeuticsPancreatic enzyme counsellingGPhC CRA

A patient taking deferiprone for transfusional iron overload telephones with a new fever and sore throat. Their scheduled weekly full blood count is in 4 days. What is the immediate medicines action?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: DStop deferiprone and obtain an urgent absolute neutrophil count

Explanation lettering: C = shown as A · D = shown as B · B = shown as C · A = shown as D

A is correct: fever and sore throat may herald deferiprone-induced neutropenia or agranulocytosis, so treatment is interrupted immediately and an ANC obtained without delay. B waits despite a potentially fatal adverse effect. C monitors iron burden rather than acute marrow toxicity. D may mask symptoms and does not address neutrophils. E confuses the relevant blood-cell lineage and leaves the suspected causative medicine in place.

Reference: Deferiprone 500 mg film-coated tablets SmPC. https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/14674/smpc