Iron deficiency anemia due to long-time bloodletting using cupping

Abstract

We report three cases of iron deficiency anemia due to long-time bloodletting using cupping. Case 1 was a 52-year-old man who sought evaluation at the Health Promotion Center in our hospital due to fatigue and dyspnea on exertion (DOE). There were no abnormal findings on his general health examination, except anemia. He has performed self-bloodletting for a long time with cupping on his back and extremities for fatigue, myalgias, or polyarthralgias. Case 2 was a 52-yearold woman with fatigue and DOE. The physical examination revealed a systolic murmur at her left lower anterior chest and pale conjunctiva. The initial hematocrit was 22.4% and the hemoglobin was 6.4 g/dL. She has self-bloodletted using cupping 2 to 3 times a week when she felt tired or had myalgias. Case 3 was a 35-year-old man with sudden onset fatigue and DOE. He had severe DOE during a challenging physical test. He frequently received bloodletting using cuppings on his back and extremities by a doctor of Oriental medicine. There were no abnormal findings on the general health examination, except anemia. All three patients were diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia due to chronic blood loss. We recommended stopping bloodletting using cupping and prescribed oral iron supplements. © 2011 by The Korean Academy of Family Medicine.