Article Text
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was recognised that SARS-CoV-2 can cause multisystem illness. Non-respiratory complications observed early in the pandemic were haematological in nature. A rare but serious haematological complication of COVID-19 infection is pancytopaenia. We describe a case of an older adult without pre-existing haematological disease or risk factors for cell dyscrasia with severe pancytopaenia induced by COVID-19, who developed critical illness requiring respiratory support in intensive care and died. Our case report highlights that de novo pancytopaenia may only present with mild dermatological manifestations and may indicate severe COVID-19 infection. Management is primarily supportive and early involvement of haematology should be sought.
- COVID-19
- Haematology (incl blood transfusion)
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Footnotes
Twitter @hele_bel
Contributors HL: literature review, next of kin consent, manuscript writing and treatment of patient. OST: manuscript review. TM: treatment of patient and manuscript review.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.