Pure red cell aplasia caused by pegylated interferon-α-2a plus ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Abstract

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare hematological disorder which is characterized by severe anemia, reticulo-cytopenia and almost complete absence of erythroid precursors in bone marrow. The pathophysiology of PRCA may be congenital or acquired. To our knowledge, there is only one case report in the English literature of PRCA after pegylated interferon combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C. We report a second case of PRCA after pegylated interferon combination treatment for chronic hepatitis C. The diagnosis of PRCA was confrmed by the typical fndings of bone marrow biopsy. The possible etiologies of our case are also discussed in this paper. © 2011 Baishideng. All rights reserved.