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Case Reports: Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
De novo pancytopaenia in an older adult with severe COVID-19 infection
  1. Helena Lee1,2,
  2. Onn Shaun Thein3,4 and
  3. Tazeen Muneer5
  1. 1Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  2. 2Geriatric Medicine, Walsall Manor Hospital, Walsall, UK
  3. 3Respiratory Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
  4. 4Respiratory Medicine, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK
  5. 5Acute Medicine, Walsall Manor Hospital, Walsall, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Helena Lee; h.lee.2{at}bham.ac.uk

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)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2022-252609

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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.