Coinheritance of hereditary elliptocytosis and deletional hemoglobin H disease

Abstract

Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. Hereditary elliptocytosis is an inherited red blood cell membrane disorder characterized by typical peripheral blood smear findings of elliptocytes or rod-like red blood cells. Hemoglobin H disease is a form of α-thalassemia disease resulting in mild to moderate hemolytic anemia. The authors report 1 case of a girl who was diagnosed with oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum and a coinheritance of hereditary elliptocytosis and deletional hemoglobin H disease. She had moderate, non-transfusion-dependent anemia. The red blood cells showed marked poikilocytosis and fragmentation. The parents were α-thalassemia carriers and the father had the typical red blood cell morphology of common hereditary elliptocytosis.