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Case Reports
. 2019 May 31;2019(5):omz027.
doi: 10.1093/omcr/omz027. eCollection 2019 May.

Water pipe smoking as a cause of secondary erythrocytosis

Nora Rebeka Javorniczky  1   2 , Cornelius F Waller  1   2 , Heike L Pahl  1   2 , Nikolas von Bubnoff  1   2   3 , Heiko Becker  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Water pipe smoking as a cause of secondary erythrocytosis

Nora Rebeka Javorniczky et al. Oxf Med Case Reports. .

Abstract

Water pipe (WP) smoking has become very popular in European countries. A 27-year-old male patient was referred to our clinic with erythrocytosis of unknown origin. His self-reported history included almost daily WP smoking since the age of 14 years. At presentation haemoglobin, haematocrit (Hct) and carboxy-haemoglobin (CO-Hb) levels were elevated to 19.7 g/dl, 54% and 15.4%, respectively. Erythrocytosis was completely reversible upon cessation of WP smoking. Upon follow-up, haemoglobin, Hct and CO-Hb levels undulated according to the intensity of WP usage. Our report shall raise awareness among physicians for WP smoking as a possible cause of secondary erythrocytosis, particularly among younger adults, and provide guidance for the clinical management.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hb and CO-Hb over-time depending on the WP smoking habit. WP smoking intensity is indicated in the figure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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