RBC fragmentation and thymoma.
Thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia with fragmented RBCs were discovered in a 70-year-old woman with a large mediastinal mass. Investigation of the cause of the hematologic findings was negative. The mass was surgically excised and proved to be a thymoma of spindle cell type. The hemogram findings returned to normal within a month of surgery. We postulate the thymoma as the source of the RBC fragmentation and thrombocytopenia and explore the relationship between tumors and the hematologic findings.
D000368:Aged; D000743:Anemia, Hemolytic / Q000209:etiology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*