Very severe aplastic anemia appearing after thymectomy

Korean J Intern Med. 2003 Mar;18(1):61-3. doi: 10.3904/kjim.2003.18.1.61.

Abstract

Aplastic anemia is a rare complication of thymoma and is extremely infrequent after thymectomy. We present a case of a 60-year-old woman with very severe aplastic anemia appearing sixteen months after thymectomy for a thymoma. She underwent thymectomy for a thymoma in April 2000. Preoperative examination revealed no hematologic abnormality. About sixteen months after the operation, she was readmitted because of pancytopenia with cough and fever. Bone marrow aspiration revealed a very severe hypoplasia in all the three cell lines with over 80% fatty tissue, and chest CT revealed no recurrence of thymoma. Her aplastic anemia had responded to cyclosporine A and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF).

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Anemia, Aplastic / drug therapy
  • Anemia, Aplastic / etiology*
  • Anemia, Aplastic / pathology*
  • Biopsy, Needle
  • Bone Marrow / pathology
  • Cyclosporine / administration & dosage
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / administration & dosage
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Rare Diseases
  • Risk Assessment
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Thymectomy / adverse effects*
  • Thymectomy / methods
  • Thymoma / diagnosis
  • Thymoma / surgery*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor
  • Cyclosporine