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A case of cold agglutinin disease in the course of treatment for polymyalgia rheumatica

  • Case Report
  • Published:
Modern Rheumatology

Abstract

A 60-year-old male who had been treated for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) with Raynaud’s phenomenon was admitted to our hospital with acrocyanosis and rapid progressive anemia. Hemolytic anemia with reduction of haptoglobin and cold agglutinin was detected, and the patient had a negative Donath-Landsteiner test. A skin biopsy from his toe revealed microthromboembolism without vasculitis, resulting in the diagnosis of cold agglutinin disease (CAD). This is a first case report of CAD complicated with PMR.

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Abbreviations

AIHA:

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia

ANA:

Anti-nuclear antibody

CAD:

Cold agglutinin disease

CRP:

C-reactive protein

EBV:

Epstein-Barr virus

ESR:

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate

GCA:

Giant cell arteritis

PMR:

Polymyalgia rheumatica

SS:

Sjögren’s syndrome

SSc:

Systemic sclerosis

VCA:

Viral capsid antigen

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Translational Medicine, Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 852-8501, Japan

    Hideki Nakamura, Kayo Kamiya-Matsumoto, Atsushi Kawakami, Hiroaki Ida & Katsumi Eguchi

  2. Department of Pathology, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

    Tomayoshi Hayashi

  3. Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan

    Shinichi Sato

  4. Central Diagnostic Laboratory, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

    Shimeru Kamihira

Authors
  1. Hideki Nakamura
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  2. Kayo Kamiya-Matsumoto
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  3. Atsushi Kawakami
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  4. Hiroaki Ida
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  5. Tomayoshi Hayashi
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  6. Shinichi Sato
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  7. Shimeru Kamihira
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  8. Katsumi Eguchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hideki Nakamura.

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Nakamura, H., Kamiya-Matsumoto, K., Kawakami, A. et al. A case of cold agglutinin disease in the course of treatment for polymyalgia rheumatica. Mod Rheumatol 19, 427–430 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-009-0167-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-009-0167-z

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