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Case Reports
. 2025 Jul 10;17(7):e87669.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.87669. eCollection 2025 Jul.

A Case of Primary Cold Agglutinin-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia Successfully Treated with Steroids

Thayani Raja  1 , Pakkiyaretnam Mayurathan  1   2 , Sithy Sabrina  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Case of Primary Cold Agglutinin-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia Successfully Treated with Steroids

Thayani Raja et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is an uncommon subtype of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Cold agglutinin syndrome (CAS) may occur secondary to infections, autoimmune disorders, or malignancies, which must be ruled out to establish a diagnosis of primary CAD. Typically, cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia (cAIHA) is unresponsive to corticosteroid therapy. However, we report a case of a 69-year-old male patient with primary CAD who was successfully treated with corticosteroids. The patient demonstrated marked clinical improvement and normalization of hemolytic markers following treatment with prednisone.

Keywords: anemia; autoimmune disorders; autoimmune hemolytic anemia (aiha); cold agglutinin disease (cad); corticosteroid therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Informed consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Tinge of conjunctival icterus
Anterior view of the patient's eyes demonstrating conjunctival icterus (yellowish discolouration of the sclera).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Ultrasound scan of the abdomen shows mild hepatomegaly along with a small amount of free fluid.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) demonstrated a faint peak in the gamma region
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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