Acquired pure red cell aplasia caused by Parvovirus B19 infection following a renal transplant

We report a young Omani male who developed severe and persistent anaemia after a kidney transplantation while being on immunosuppression therapy, standard practice to prevent rejection of the transplanted kidney. His bone marrow aspirate showed the classic morphological changes of pure red cell aplasia [PRCA], induced by parvovirus B19 infection which is the presence of giant proerythroblasts with viral inclusion. The virus was also demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction in the blood along with IgM antibodies to parvovirus B19. He responded dramatically to high dose immunoglobulin with a normalization of his haemoglobin level in two weeks and remained normal until seven months later. Parvovirus B19 induced PRCA can be cured. This aetiology must be kept in mind especially when a chronic anaemia, refractory to treatment, is accompanied by a reticulocytopenia. The latter reflects the lysis of the proerythroblasts, preventing maturation of the erythroid cells causing anaemia. Early recognition and prompt treatment spares the patient unnecessary exposure to blood transfusions, erythropoietin and renal disease caused by the virus. PRCA secondary to parvovirus B19 infection following kidney transplantation is reported in the literature, but not in the Omani population. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such report in Oman

Hairy cell leukaemia in Oman four cases

Hairy cell leukaemia [HCL] is a rare, clonal, chronic lymphoproliferative disorder commonly seen in males in the middle years of life. Pancytopaenia with moderate to massive splenomegaly is the most common clinical presentation. Diagnosis is made on detecting the lymphocytes with abundant cytoplasm which spread into hair-like processes on peripheral blood and bone marrow smears, thus giving the name, 'hairy cell leukaemia'. The bone marrow aspirate is frequently a dry tap. The trephine biopsy has the characteristic features of a honey comb appearance and flow cytometry is typically CD[103], CD[25], FMC[7], CD[11c], gamma or kappa light chain positive with the classic B lymphocyte markers CD[19], CD[20], CD7[9a]. Purine analogues followed by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor [G-CSF] to manage the febrile neutropenia is currently the treatment of choice. A 10 year disease free survival is recorded with these management strategies. Experimental use of anti CD[20] and CD[22] has also shown promising results in the treatment of this disease. We report four cases of HCL diagnosed in a span of two years at the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman