RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Severe iron deficiency anaemia associated with heavy lice infestation in a young woman
JF BMJ Case Reports
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP bcr2015212207
DO 10.1136/bcr-2015-212207
VO 2015
A1 Althomali, Sarah Ali
A1 Alzubaidi, Lamya Mohammed
A1 Alkhaldi, Dhelal Musleh
YR 2015
UL http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2015/bcr-2015-212207.abstract
AB Lice feed on human blood, and heavy and chronic lice infestation can lead to chronic blood loss with resultant iron deficiency anaemia. Although no definite relationship between lice infestation and iron deficiency anaemia has been described, the concurrent presence of these two conditions has been reported in children and adults, as well as in cattle. We present a case of a young woman with severe iron deficiency anaemia that could not be explained by the known causes of iron deficiency anaemia. However, the patient was found to have heavy and chronic head lice infestation.