News

SARS-CoV-2 virus may have induced toddler’s severe AIHA

A 2-year-old, healthy girl developed a severe, mixed form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) as a result of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, a case study reports. While AIHA — a group of rare autoimmune conditions that include cold agglutinin disease (CAD) — secondary to COVID-19…

Pre-treatments helped limit complications of CAD during surgery

In people with cold agglutinin disease (CAD), pre-treatment with rituximab and plasma exchange may help limit complications during surgeries where the patient’s body temperature is decreased, a new report illustrates. The case study, “Total arch replacement for an aortic arch aneurysm with cold agglutinin disease after…

Man’s CAD likely a complication of ICI cancer therapies

In rare cases, cold agglutinin disease (CAD) may develop as a delayed complication of a combination of immune-activating cancer therapies called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), according to a case report. While some cases of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) — a group of autoimmune disorders that include CAD secondary to…

COVID-19 complicated blood cancer-associated CAD

Diagnosis and treatment of cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to a type of blood cancer was complicated by COVID-19 in a middle-aged man, a case study reports. The researchers identified specific mutations in immune cells that may explain the “treatment resistance and susceptibility to COVID-19,” they wrote in the…

Rare case of CAD secondary to lupus reported in young woman

A young woman in Colombia developed cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease often called lupus, a study reports. While other types of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) — rare autoimmune diseases marked by self-reactive antibodies attacking and destroying red blood cells —…

Scientists report 4th case of daratumumab controlling CAD

Daratumumab, which is approved to treat some cancers, was effective at controlling cold agglutinin disease (CAD) in an elderly woman who failed to respond to rituximab, a study reports. The report, “Refractory cold agglutinin disease successfully treated with daratumumab. A case report and review of literature,”…

Atypical symptoms, odd lab findings delay CAD diagnosis

Atypical symptoms, including persistent blue discoloration and skin lesions in the extremities, along with uncommon laboratory findings, delayed a cold agglutinin disease (CAD) diagnosis for more than a decade in a 60-year-old woman, a study reports. “This case adds important context to the difficulty in diagnosis of this disease,”…

Physicians’ search for blood cancer reveals secondary CAD

A case of cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to a type of blood cancer called B-cell lymphoma was confirmed after carefully examining blood samples under the microscope, a study reports. The case study illustrates the “importance of microscopic observation in the exploration of undergoing causes of cold agglutination,” the researchers…