Haemolytic anaemia in alcohol abuse. A review of 14 cases.

Clinical and haematological data on 14 patients (8 women and 6 men) with alcohol-induced haemolytic anaemia and mild to moderate liver injury are presented. Nine of the patients were obvious drinkers, while 5 were socially well adjusted individuals in whom alcohol dependence was not suspected on admission to hospital. Four patients presented with a typical Zieve's syndrome. Two further patients had a moderate transient stomatocytosis, as assessed by microscopy of dried blood smears and by scanning electron microscopy. The majority of the patients, however, did not fit into any of the syndromes proposed in the literature. Indeed, the validity of both Zieve's syndrome and the "transient stomatocytosis with hemolysis" syndrome is questioned.