Giant cell arteritis and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia.

Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia was found in a 67 year old woman with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis. The patient's symptoms, as well as the hemolytic process, were suppressed by high-dose steroid therapy on several occasions. The presence of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia is consistent with the concept that erythrocyte fragmentation resulted from contract with intravascular fibrin. This is the first, reported case of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia with temporal arteritis.