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DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_128_16
Malignancy Associated Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia and Thrombocytopenia
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Abstract
Disseminated malignancy can rarely present with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia clinically similar to thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), but does not respond to plasma exchange. TTP carries a grave prognosis if plasma exchange is delayed. Evaluating patients presenting with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia is challenging for clinicians. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) should be considered in such patients and emergency plasma exchange is to be initiated. But all the clinical features seen in TTP can be caused by a disseminated malignancy. The awareness of such a rare presentation of disseminated malignancy helps clinicians to avoid unnecessary delay in appropriate treatment and the complications due to plasma exchange. We report two patients who presented with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia due to disseminated malignancy.
Keywords
Disseminated malignancy - microangiopathic hemolytic anemia - thrombocytopenia - thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpuraPublication History
Article published online:
23 June 2021
© 2018. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)
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