Aplastic anemia in a patient with chronic liver disease

Abstract

The association of aplastic anemia with chronic liver disease is rare. We report the case of a 47-year-old male patient who presented with bleeding gums and melena. He was found to have pancytopenia and on evaluation, had an aplastic bone marrow. He also had cirrhosis with portal hypertension (cryptogenic cirrhosis) for which no cause could be ascertained. This case illustrates that in a patient with cirrhosis and pancytopenia, we must look for causes other than hypersplenism.

Keywords

• Aplastic anemia
• cryptogenic cirrhosis
• pancytopenia