RSS Feeds
Cold Agglutinin Hemolytic Anemia: Management with an Environmental Suit
- JOHN R. BARTHOLOMEW, M.D.;
- WILLIAM R. BELL, M.D.; and
- R. SUE SHIREY, M.S.
Excerpt
Cold Agglutinin hemolytic anemia due to cold autoantibodies associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae is rare. Optimal treatment includes antibiotics and maintenance of a constant warm environment for the patient. This treatment, however, may result in a prolonged, costly, and confining hospitalization.
We report the use of an environmental suit for a patient with severe hemolysis due to M. pneumoniae pneumonia. This suit provides a constant temperature and has enabled the patient to journey outside his room, despite winter temperatures, yet avoid further hemolytic episodes. Early discharge was possible and has facilitated the patient's return to home and work as well as
This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.
Acknowledgments
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors thank Dr. James McBarron and P. McLaughlan of the Department of Life Sciences, NASA; Roger Desrosier of ILC-Dover; and Drs. Paul Ness and Thomas Kickler, directors of the Blood Bank of The Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
Article and Author Information
-
Grant support: in part by research grant HL 24898 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and by the Whitehall Foundation.
-
▸ Requests for reprints should be addressed to William R. Bell, M.D.; Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe Street; Baltimore, MD 21205.
