Surviving Extreme Anaemia

Joana M Esteves, Esteves JM, Joana Fernandes, Fernandes J, Oliveira Monteiro P, Pedro Oliveira Monteiro, Almeida M, Mariana Almeida, Luis Nogueira-Silva, Nogueira-Silva L, Jorge Almeida, Almeida J
European journal of case reports in internal medicine · 2021 · vol. 8(3) , pp. 002357 · doi:10.12890/2021_002357 · PMID:33869097 · PMC8046282
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This case report describes the successful treatment of extreme megaloblastic anaemia with a haemoglobin level of 1.7 g/dl in a 54-year-old woman due to vitamin B12 deficiency, highlighting the efficacy of nutrient replacement therapy.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by qwen3.7-flash, 2026-10-13 · read from full text ⓘ

This case report describes a 54-year-old woman who presented with profound megaloblastic anaemia, characterized by an extreme haemoglobin level of 1.7 g/dl resulting from severe vitamin B12 deficiency. The patient was successfully treated for this life-threatening nutritional condition, highlighting the efficacy of modern management strategies for extreme anaemia despite its historical association with high morbidity and mortality. The paper emphasizes that while transfusion medicine and nutrient discovery have largely mitigated these risks, cases involving haemoglobin levels below 2 g/dl remain critical challenges requiring prompt intervention. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

UNLABELLED: Before the development of transfusion medicine, severe anaemia was an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The discovery of haematopoietic mechanisms and essential nutrients made it possible to easily treat and prevent this condition. Nevertheless, it is often fatal in patients presenting with extreme anaemia (haemoglobin levels <2 g/dl). We report the rare case of a 54-year-old woman who presented with profound megaloblastic anaemia (haemoglobin of 1.7 g/dl) due to vitamin B12 deficiency, and was successfully treated. LEARNING POINTS: The discovery of vitamin B12 in the 20th century led to the successful and easy treatment of thousands of patients with anaemia.Focus on patient adherence to treatment and medical advice is essential in order to manage chronic conditions such as post-gastrectomy nutritional deficiencies.Extreme anaemia is very rare and associated with high mortality; treatment should be tailored to acute or chronic anaemia and in cases where haemodynamic stability is guaranteed, a restrictive blood transfusion strategy should be considered to reduce the risk of complications.
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Keywords

Severe anaemia, vitamin B12, nutritional deficiencyAbstract Before the development of transfusion medicine, severe anaemia was an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The discovery of haematopoietic mechanisms and essential nutrients made it possible to easily treat and prevent this condition. Nevertheless, it is often fatal in patients presenting with extreme anaemia (haemoglobin levels <2 g/dl). We report the rare case of a 54-year-old woman who presented with profound megaloblastic anaemia (haemoglobin of 1.7 g/dl) due to vitamin B12 deficiency, and was successfully treated.

References

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