Department of Medical Oncology Haematology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishieksh, India.
Department of Haematology, Saroj Gupta Cancer Center & Research Institute, Thakurpukur, Kolkata, India.
Drug Discov Ther. 2021 Mar 10;15(1):48-50. doi: 10.5582/ddt.2020.03101. Epub 2021 Feb 19.
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar (black fever in Hindi), is a disease primarily caused by Leishmania donovani. The most important clinical manifestation of visceral leishmaniasis is fever. Nonspecific laboratory findings of visceral leishmaniasis include anemia, neutropenia, eosinopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Definitive diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis requires the demonstration of either parasite by smear or tissue by culture (usually bone marrow or spleen). Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease caused by antibodies to acetylcholine receptors in the post-junctional membrane of the neuromuscular junction. It typically presents with fatigable muscle weakness without any sensory or brain involvement. It is usually treated with corticosteroids and immunosuppressants like azathioprine. Here we encountered a confirmed case of myasthenia gravis on azathioprine with pancytopenia. While working up to evaluate pancytopenia, bone marrow examination revealed presence of Donovan bodies and the patient showed good response to liposomal amphotericin-B. In retrospect, a case of myasthenia gravis, who presented with pancytopenia presumably drug-induced, was found to have visceral leishmaniasis.
内脏利什曼病(VL),又称黑热病(印度语中的“黑色发烧”),主要由杜氏利什曼原虫引起。内脏利什曼病最重要的临床表现是发热。内脏利什曼病的非特异性实验室发现包括贫血、中性粒细胞减少、嗜酸性粒细胞减少和血小板减少。内脏利什曼病的明确诊断需要通过涂片或组织培养(通常是骨髓或脾脏)来证明寄生虫的存在。重症肌无力是一种自身免疫性疾病,由神经肌肉接头后膜乙酰胆碱受体的抗体引起。它通常表现为易疲劳的肌肉无力,没有任何感觉或大脑受累。它通常用皮质类固醇和免疫抑制剂如硫唑嘌呤治疗。在这里,我们遇到了一例在硫唑嘌呤治疗中并发全血细胞减少的重症肌无力确诊病例。在对全血细胞减少进行评估时,骨髓检查显示存在 Donovan 体,患者对脂质体两性霉素 B 反应良好。回顾性分析发现,一例全血细胞减少症的重症肌无力患者,推测为药物诱导的,患有内脏利什曼病。