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Case Reports: Unusual association of diseases/symptoms
Hereditary haemochromatosis discovered after COVID-19 hospitalisation
  1. Zachary Hall1 and
  2. Emily Manlove2
  1. 1Ball Memorial Transitional Year Program, Indiana University School of Medicine, Muncie, IN, USA
  2. 2Department of Family Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Zachary Hall; zackhall{at}iu.edu

Abstract

COVID-19 infection and hereditary haemochromatosis (HH) have something in common; the disease course can be monitored with ferritin levels. Throughout the pandemic, physicians have looked for markers to help predict disease severity. Ferritin levels are commonly used to predict and monitor disease severity in hospitalised patients with COVID-19. While ferritin is elevated as part of the acute-phase reaction in response to infection, it can also be elevated due to iron overload. We report a case of undiagnosed, asymptomatic HH that was unveiled after COVID-19 infection via monitoring for resolution of ferritin levels that were found to be extremely elevated during a moderate COVID-19 infection. This diagnosis allowed the patient to initiate phlebotomy treatment before symptoms of HH arose.

  • COVID-19
  • Haematology (incl blood transfusion)

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2022-253023

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors ZH—data collection, data analysis and interpretation, drafting the article and critical revision of the article. EM—conception or design of the work, critical revision of the article and final approval of the version to be published.

    • 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.