Evans syndrome following long-standing Hashimoto's thyroiditis and successful treatment with rituximab
Korean Journal of Hematology
; : 279-282, 2011.
Article
in En
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-720152
Responsible library:
WPRO
ABSTRACT
We report a case of a 51-year-old woman with Evans syndrome (autoimmune hemolytic anemia and primary immune thrombocytopenia) and hypothyroidism. She was previously diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in 1994 (age, 35) and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) 3 years ago. She was treated with oral prednisolone. After a period, in which the anemia waxed and waned, there was an abrupt development of thrombocytopenia (nadir 15x10(9)/L) that coincided with the tapering off of prednisolone after 3 years of administration. Because her thrombocytopenia was refractory to prednisolone, we administered rituximab (375 mg/m2 weekly) for 4 weeks. Two weeks after the completion of the rituximab treatment, her platelet count was up to 92x10(9)/L. No intermittent peaking of thyroid stimulating hormone occurred after rituximab treatment was initiated. Evans syndrome and autoimmune thyroiditis might share common pathophysiological mechanisms. This notion supports the use of rituximab in a patient suffering from these disorders.
Key words
Full text:
1
Index:
WPRIM
Main subject:
Platelet Count
/
Stress, Psychological
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Thrombocytopenia
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Thyroid Gland
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Thyroiditis
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Thyroiditis, Autoimmune
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Prednisolone
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Thyrotropin
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Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
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Rituximab
Limits:
Female
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Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Korean Journal of Hematology
Year:
2011
Type:
Article