Abstract

Nomifensine, an antidepressant used for eight years in Britain, was particularly popular in the north west of England. Haemolytic anaemia was recognised as a rare side effect, but in 1984 a cluster of six cases was referred to the North West Regional Transfusion Centre, reflecting an incidence of 0.006%. These were collected within 18 months and showed variable serological features, indicating that antibodies associated with nomifensine treatment are neither rare nor of one particular type. The accumulation of this and similar data contributed to its withdrawal from the British market in January, 1986.