Anaemia in patients with schistosomiasis and gross splenomegaly

Anaemia in schistosomiasis associated with gross splenomegaly was found to be characterized by iron deficiency, diminution of erythrocyte life span and slow plasma albumin turnover.The mean cell life of ⁵¹Cr erythrocytes in 4 patients was approximately half normal, and this was associated with evidence of sequestration of the erythrocytes in the spleen as revealed by increased surface radio-activity over the spleen. The diminished erythrocyte life span was therefore probably mostly due to hypersplenism.The plasma iron turnover rate was greater than normal and was accompanied by low plasma iron values.There was evidence that the patients' marrow was not producing erythrocytes at more than twice the normal rate, and the most important limiting factor was thought to be iron deficiency.Reserve capacity was probably present, for iron was removed from the plasma at rates greater than normal.Plasma albumin turnover rates were normal in 3 of the patients studied, and increased in one.The study provides further evidence of the necessity for early treatment of schistosomiasis in order to avoid the serious results of infection here observed.