Favism is an acute hemolytic syndrome that occurs in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency following the ingestion of fava beans. Diagnosis can be challenging because the severity of hemolytic anemia varies among this patient population. Furthermore, the severity of hemolytic episodes can vary in the same patient. The diagnosis of G6PD deficiency and patient education pertaining to safe and unsafe medications and foods are crucial to prevent the reoccurrence of hemolytic episodes. Here, we report the case of a man admitted to our hospital with an acute hemolytic episode. At the time of admission, we were unaware that he had ingested fava beans and only discovered that he had G6PD deficiency while performing complementary studies during the hemolytic crisis to determine its etiology.
Keywords: fava beans; favism; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency; hemolysis; hemolytic anemia.
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