A young man twenty-one years of age has come into the local health clinic with a hemoglobin of 11.9 gm/dL and a hematocrit of 25%. He has recently developed multiple petechiae and small bruises on his arms and legs. He has been under treatment for a generalized tonic-clonic seizure disorder, receiving carbamazepine (Tegretol).
List the significant symptoms and/or lab results of the patient and the underlying physiological abnormality that they reflect.
Discuss whether this drug could be responsible for this patient's new symptoms, and if so, why? Relate the patient's symptoms to the potential adverse effects of carbamazepine?