[Epileptic seizures and hematemesis in a young patient with sickle cell disease]

Sickle cell disease is a multi-faceted disease, which can affect all organs. Here, we report the case of a young woman whose clinical presentation was confusing.

An 18-year-old patient from Martinique in Caribbean area presented to the emergency room with widespread pain, as part of a vaso-occlusive crisis. She reported being followed for SS sickle cell anemia, with a history of vaso-occlusive crises and exchange transfusions in the past. Her hemoglobin rate was 83g/L. She was treated with opioid analgesics. Then, she presented several generalized tonic-clonic seizures and major episodes of hematemesis, which proved to be simulated by the patient, whose hemoglobin electrophoresis result was finally AS.

This patient had therefore the Münchausen syndrome, mimicking sickle cell anemia, like eight other cases reported in the literature.