TAFRO syndrome with fatigue and abdominal distension as the first symptom: A case report

TAFRO syndrome is a peculiar and rare type of multi-centric Castleman's disease which contained a series of symptoms such as thrombocytopenia (T), anasarca (A), fever (F), reticulin fibrosis (R), and organomegaly (O). Here we provide a case of TAFRO syndrome with the manifestation of fatigue, abdominal distension, and low fever at primary diagnosis, characterized by multiple lymphadenopathy of superficial mediastinal and retroperitoneal lymph nodes, and it was finally confirmed by lymph node biopsy. The patient recovered speedy after receiving CHOP chemotherapy. In this case report, the patient has a history of dust-exposure and hepatitis B virus infection, which may be potentially related to the disease. In addition, this case suggests the importance of pathological biopsy of complete lymph nodes in diagnostic process.