[Pure red cell aplasia and pseudothrombocytopenia associated with hepatitis A]

We report a rare case who developed pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) and pseudothrombocytopenia associated with hepatitis. A 50-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of acute hepatitis A. On the 22nd hospital day, normocytic normochromic anemia without reticulocytosis was developed. A bone marrow aspirate revealed erythroid hypoplasia with a small percentage of proerythroblasts and basophilic erythroblasts, but almost complete absence of polychromatophilic and orthochromic erythroblasts. This case was diagnosed as PRCA characterized by the maturation arrest of erythropoiesis. Anemia was spontaneously recovered following marked reticulocytosis. Afterward, transient EDTA-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia developed for 3 months. The serum taken during the acute phase of clearly inhibited BFU-E colony formation. This data suggests that some humoral factor in the serum of this patient may be involved in the pathogenesis of PRCA.