Summary
Of seventeen cases of megaloblastic anaemia treated with large doses of vitamin B12, thirteen had a reticulocyte response and haematological improvement and 4 responded to folic acid when vitamin B12 had failed. In four cases responding to vitamin B12 folic acid failed to produce a second reticulocyte response.
There are, therefore, two groups of megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy depending on the response to vitamin B12, and not all cases can be regarded as folic acid deficient anaemias.
Fat balance studies were carried out on six cases; no evidence of occult steatorrhoea was found.
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In receipt of a grant from the Medical Research Council of Ireland.
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Moore, H.C., Lillie, E.W. & Gatenby, P.B.B. The response of megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy to vitamin B12. Ir J Med Sci 30, 106–116 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02949682
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02949682