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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr;10(2):76-79.
doi: 10.14740/jh815. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

An Unusual Cause of Gastrointestinal Perforation in an Adolescent Patient With Beta-Thalassemia on Deferasirox and SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Devkishan Chauhan  1   2 , Yakup Kilic  1   2 , Jonathan P Segal  1 , Neil Patel  1 , Louis Koizia  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

An Unusual Cause of Gastrointestinal Perforation in an Adolescent Patient With Beta-Thalassemia on Deferasirox and SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Devkishan Chauhan et al. J Hematol. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Chelation therapy is recognized as a safe and effective treatment option in patients with beta-thalassemia with iron overload. We report an 18-year-old male with acute abdomen and gastrointestinal bleeding with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection secondary to gastric perforation due to chelation therapy. This patient had a prolonged intensive care stay with complications of SARS-CoV-2 and a small bowel obstruction post-surgery that resolved after conservative management. Given the acute presentation, chelation therapy use and concomitant SARS-CoV-2 infection, clinicians should keep an open mind on the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in patients with beta-thalassemia.

Keywords: Anti-chelation therapy; Gastric perforation; SARS-CoV-2; Thalassemia.

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Conflict of interest statement

None to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest radiograph depicting free air under the diaphragm shown by blue arrow pointing to free air.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Abdominal CT (axial views) with blue arrow indicating free air and perforation. (b) Abdominal CT (coronal views) depicting free air and fluid secondary to gastric perforation. CT: computed tomography.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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