[Emergency admission with suspected anemia-causing bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract]

The 33-year-old woman was violently beaten and suffered from concussion of the upper abdomen. Because of pain she took mefenamic acid for two days. Then she reported hematemesis, melena and vertigo. The value for hemoglobin was determined as 5.8 g/dl. Acute blood loss was suspected, but neither intraabdominal nor upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage could be detected. Further investigations revealed a Coombs-negative hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia, and microangiopathic hemolysis was suggested by the detection of fragmentocytes in a peripheral blood smear. The diagnosis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) was made, though the patient did not suffer from manifestations of impaired microcirculation like neurological symptoms or renal failure. The TTP was found to be associated with HIV infection. The hematological disease responded well to the treatment with fresh-frozen plasma.