Vitamin C deficiency: rare cause of severe anemia with hemolysis

Historically known to be a disease of sailors and soldiers in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, scurvy is a rare nutritional deficiency in the developed world, but it can still be seen among the alcoholics and the malnourished. We present a case of a 39-year-old alcoholic male who presented wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of hematology 2019-05, Vol.109 (5), p.618-621
Main Authors: Shaikh, Hira, Faisal, Muhammad Salman, Mewawalla, Prerna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcoholics
Alcoholism
Anemia
Ascorbic acid
Bleeding
Case Report
Diagnosis
Dietary supplements
Exanthema
Fatigue
Hematology
Hemoglobin
Hemolysis
Hemolytic anemia
Historical account
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Nutrient deficiency
Oncology
Sailors
Thromboembolism
Thrombosis
Vasculitis
Vitamin C
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Summary:Historically known to be a disease of sailors and soldiers in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, scurvy is a rare nutritional deficiency in the developed world, but it can still be seen among the alcoholics and the malnourished. We present a case of a 39-year-old alcoholic male who presented with progressive fatigue and diffuse purpuric rash with scattered ecchymosis for 2 months. Blood work was remarkable for hemoglobin of 9.1 g/dl, which further dropped to 7 g/dl over the next few days. He was then found to have hemolysis on lab work. After an extensive workup, the common causes of hemolytic anemia were ruled out, vitamin C level was checked, which interestingly resulted as 0 mg/dl. Supplementation with oral vitamin C resulted in the gradual resolution of hemolytic anemia and rash. Hemoglobin improved to 15 g/dl in 4 weeks, with normalization of vitamin C level. The clinical features of scurvy can easily be confused with conditions such as vasculitis, deep venous thrombosis, and systemic bleeding disorders. Therefore, comprehensive workup up is required prior to the diagnosis. Although rare, being a reversible condition, early diagnosis and treatment of scurvy in high-risk populations cannot be stressed enough.
ISSN:0925-5710
1865-3774
DOI:10.1007/s12185-018-02575-w