A case of transfusion-associated hemochromatosis involving multiple organs.
- Author:
Mee Kyoung KIM
1
;
Dong Jun LIM
;
Ki Hyun BAEK
;
Ki Ho SONG
;
Moo Il KANG
;
Kwang Woo LEE
;
Jong Wook LEE
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea Colleage of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. drbkh@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Transfusion;
Hemochromatosis
- MeSH:
Adult;
Anemia, Aplastic;
Bone Marrow;
Diabetes Mellitus;
Erythrocytes;
Female;
Ferritins;
Hemochromatosis;
Humans;
Hypogonadism;
Iron;
Iron Overload;
Liver;
Myocardium;
Skin Pigmentation;
Strikes, Employee;
Tissue Donors;
Transferrin
- From:Korean Journal of Medicine
2008;75(6):709-713
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
We report a case of transfusion-associated hemochromatosis in a 38-year-old female who had severe aplastic anemia. She had undergone conservative treatment consisting of multiple transfusions because she had no suitable HLA-matched bone marrow donor. She had received 400 units of red blood cells (RBCs) over 10 years. The transferrin saturation and serum ferritin were increased to 88.4% and 29,905 ng/mL, respectively. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed increased densities in the liver and myocardium, suggesting iron deposits in those organs. In general, transfusional iron overload results in primarily reticuloendothelial iron accumulation, which is considered to be less harmful than parenchymal iron accumulation. Nevertheless, our patient had many striking complications associated with hemochromatosis, such as skin pigmentation, hypogonadotropin hypogonadism, insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus, impaired liver function, and left ventricular dysfunction.
