Parkinsonism With a Bovine Cough: An Unusual Presentation

The document reported a case of a 6-year-old boy who developed thrombocytopenia while being treated with sodium valproate for seizures. Despite being seizure-free for eight months on a regimen of 400 mg four times a day, the boy experienced hair loss and spontaneous bruising. His platelet count was significantly low at 15 x 10^9/L, and his bleeding time was prolonged, although other coagulation tests were normal. The serum level of sodium valproate was found to be very high at 244 µg/ml, leading to the immediate discontinuation of the drug. This case highlighted the potential side effects of sodium valproate, including thrombocytopenia and hair loss, even when used as a monotherapy.