Hemolytic anemia as a sequela of arsenic intoxication following long-term ingestion of traditional Chinese medicine

J Korean Med Sci. 2004 Feb;19(1):127-9. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2004.19.1.127.

Abstract

We report on a 51-yr-old woman who developed intravascular hemolytic anemia caused by arsenic after long-term ingestion of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Twelve years before the admission, she was diagnosed as neurocysticercosis. She has ingested a TCM for about 12 yr instead of undergoing medical therapy for the disease. She was presented with a severe Coombs'-negative hemolytic anemia with hemosiderinuria. The urine arsenic level was elevated suggesting the arsenic intoxication as a cause of the anemia. She was treated successfully with therapeutic red cell exchange without any sequelae.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Anemia, Hemolytic / diagnosis*
  • Arsenic / toxicity*
  • Arsenic / urine
  • Arsenic Poisoning*
  • Erythrocytes / cytology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Medicine, Chinese Traditional / adverse effects*
  • Middle Aged
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Arsenic