Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Jan 11:44:21.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2023.44.21.35809. eCollection 2023.

Clinical and therapeutic features of Plummer-Vinson syndrome in a Tunisian population: a case series

Lassaad Chtourou  1   2 , Manel Moalla  1   2 , Hela Gdoura  1   2 , Hend Smaoui  1   2 , Ons Khrouf  1   2 , Roua Kallel  1   2 , Leila Mnif  1   2 , Ali Amouri  1   2 , Mona Boudabbous  1   2 , Nabil Tahri  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Clinical and therapeutic features of Plummer-Vinson syndrome in a Tunisian population: a case series

Lassaad Chtourou et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Plummer Vinson syndrome (PVS) is a rare entity and most publications are case or series of cases. Thus, we report a series from southern Tunisia. Our aim was to analyse the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, the therapeutic modalities as well as the evolution of this pathology. Thus we carried out a retrospective study from 2009 until 2019. For each patient with PVS, we collected the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical data and therapeutic modalities. A total of 23 patients were enrolled with a median age of 49.52 years [18-82 years] and a clear female predominance (M/F=2/21). The median duration of dysphagia was 42 months [4-92 months]. Moderate microcytic hypochromic anemia was noted in 16 patients. The anemia was without obvious cause in 60.8% (n=14) of cases. The main endoscopic finding was a diaphragm in the cervical area. Treatment was based on iron supplementation followed by endoscopic dilatation with Savary dilators in 90.9% (n=20) and balloons for 9.1% of patients (n=2). Dysphagia recurred in 5 patients after a median of 26.6 months [2-60 months]. Three cases of PVS were complicated by esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In conclusion, our series confirms that PVS affects mostly women. Anemia is frequently noted in these patients. Treatment is based on endoscopic dilatation which is often an easy and risk-free procedure and iron supplementation.

Keywords: Plummer-Vinson syndrome; dysphagia; endoscopic dilatation; iron deficiency anemia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
esophageal diaphragm in upper endoscopy
Figure 2
Figure 2
barium meal showing tight and short narrowing in the cervical esophagus
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Plummer S. Diffuse dilatation of the esophagus without anatomic stenosis (cardiospasm). A report of ninety-one cases. J Am Med Assoc. 1912;58:2013–5.
    1. Chtourou L, Boudabbous M, Mnif L, Trabelsi F, Grati A, Amouri A, et al. Syndrome de Plummer-Vinson associé à une maladie cœliaque: à propos de deux cas. J Afr Hepato Gastroenterol. 2016;10:223–6.
    1. Goel A, Lakshmi CP, Bakshi SS, Soni N, Koshy S. Single-center prospective study of Plummer-vinson syndrome. Dis Esophagus. 2016 Oct;29(7):837–841. - PubMed
    1. Wynder El, Hultberg S, Jacobsson F, Bross IJ. Environmental factors in cancer of the upper alimentary tract. A Swedish study with special reference to Plummer-Vinson (Paterson-Kelly) syndrome. Cancer. 1957 May-Jun;10(3):470–87. - PubMed
    1. Dantas RO. Iron deficiency and dysphagia. Am J Gastroenterol. 1999 Oct;94(10):3072–3. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms