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Case Reports
. 2021 Jun 7;13(6):e15508.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.15508. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Evans Syndrome in a Jehovah's Witness

Lex P Leonhardt  1 , Aamir Pervez  1 , Alejandro Calvo  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Evans Syndrome in a Jehovah's Witness

Lex P Leonhardt et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Evans syndrome (ES) is a rare hematologic disorder characterized by the development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), idiopathic thrombocytopenia, and occasionally immune-mediated neutropenia. Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) often decline blood product transfusion on the grounds of a scriptural stand based on biblical texts. The acute management of ES often consists of blood product transfusion in addition to high-dose steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin. We describe the case of a JW female presenting with new-onset, acutely worsening AIHA and thrombocytopenia with concern for hemodynamic compromise who was successfully treated with erythropoietin-stimulating agents, parenteral iron, folic acid, and high-dose steroids.

Keywords: blood dyscrasia; evans syndrome; idiopathic thrombocytopenia; jehovah's witness; microangiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia; thrombocytopenia; transfusion refusal.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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