Pleural effusion associated with chronic dantrolene administration.

OBJECTIVE

To report a case of pleural effusion associated with chronic dantrolene administration.

DESIGN

Case report.

SETTING

Private, university-affiliated, teaching hospital.

RESULTS

Twelve years after the initiation of low-dose dantrolene therapy for chronic spasticity, a 35-year-old man developed a pleural effusion with pleural and peripheral eosinophilia. This reaction gradually resolved over several months after discontinuation of the dantrolene therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients treated with chronic dantrolene therapy, the presence of pleural effusions should raise the suspicion of dantrolene-induced disease. Withdrawal of dantrolene therapy has generally been associated with an alleviation of signs and symptoms within several months.