[Autoimmune hemolytic anemia with normal serum lactate dehydrogenase level]

We herein report two cases of AIHA (autoimmune hemolytic anemia), a 25-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, who presented with normal serum LDH values. Though in these two cases, low hemoglobin and haptoglobin, high total bilirubin and positive direct Coombs' test results led to the diagnosis of AIHA, both patients had normal LDH levels (218 and 187 IU/l). Both cases were successfully treated with prednisone. In the diagnosis of AIHA, elevated LDH is usually used as a marker of hemolysis. However, medical records of 24 AIHA patients collected in our institute from January 2001 to August 2012 revealed LDH levels to have been normal in 25% of these cases. This report indicates the importance of obtaining complete information about the blood testing of patients and taking these data into account when considering the diagnosis of AIHA.