Table 1.
Characteristics of neutropenia associated with levamisole tainted cocaine (NATC) cases in Alberta and British Columbia, January 2008 -- March 2009
| Characteristic: | Alberta | British Columbia | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of NATC cases | 23 | 19 | 42 | |||
| Confirmed (%) | 10 | (43) | 6 | (32) | 16 | (38) |
| Probable (%) | 13 | (57) | 13 | (68) | 26 | (62) |
| No. of NATC episodes | 43 | 45 | 88 | |||
| Mean age, years (range, years) | 39 | (18-52) | 36 | (22-63) | 37 | (18-63) |
| Gender | ||||||
| Males (%) | 9 | (39) | 6 | (32) | 15 | (36) |
| Females (%) | 14 | (61) | 13 | (68) | 27 | (64) |
| Type of cocaine exposure | ||||||
| Crack (%) | 13 | (57) | 11 | (58) | 24 | (57) |
| Powder (%) | 0 | (0) | 2 | (11) | 2 | (5) |
| Both (%) | 0 | (0) | 1 | (5) | 1 | (2) |
| Unknown | 10 | (43) | 5 | (26) | 15 | (36) |
| Route of cocaine exposure** | ||||||
| Smoke (%) | 8 | (35) | 10 | (53) | 18 | (43) |
| Snort (%) | 0 | (0) | 7 | (37) | 7 | (17) |
| Inject (%) | 0 | (0) | 1 | (5) | 1 | (2) |
| UNKNOWN (%) | 15 | (65) | 2 | (11) | 17 | (40) |
| No. of NATC cases with repeated neutropenia episodes (range, No. of episodes) | 8 | (2-7) | 10 | (2-8) | 18 | (2-8) |
| No. of NATC cases that had bone marrow biopsies (%) | 8 | (35) | 7 | (37) | 15 | (36) |
* Testing information was not reported for all cases.
** Some NATC cases reporting using cocaine by more than one method. As such, the sum of the percentages will not equal 100.