A 70-year-old woman developed severe hemolysis and fulminant liver failure following a hip fracture due to a mechanical fall, and detailed examination suggested a diagnosis of cold agglutinin disease (CAD). The case was reported by Nanduri et al in Chest and was presented at the Chest 2021 Annual Meeting. The patient remained in critical condition…
A case of simultaneous onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), and cold agglutinin disease (CAD) was recently reported in Cureus. The 51-year-old male patient was found to be positive for COVID-19 via reverse polymerase chain reaction testing while being positive for immunoglobulin (Ig) G and C3 complement antibodies (indicators of…
Douen and colleagues described a case study of a 77-year-old female with COVID-19-induced cold agglutinin disease (CAD) in an article published in the Chest journal. COVID-19 is best described as a systemic disease, the authors said. It’s known to have significant effects in patients with hematological diseases. For example, research has shown that 1 of…
There are a few things that physicians do their best to avoid when a patient is under their care. One of the most basic things to check, for example, is the patient’s allergy status to avoid needless drug reactions that can sometimes be life-threatening. Another thing that is always on a physician’s mind is the…
A Taiwanese team of researchers discovered that the prescription of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is associated with a higher risk of developing autoimmune disease, including cold agglutin disease (CAD), according to a study published in Frontiers in Immunology. The team hypothesized that PPIs disrupt host immunity and increase the risk of autoimmune diseases. PPIs are…
Five experts in the rare disease and data science fields shared their experiences and thoughts on how advancements in data science can advance the treatment of rare diseases. David Scheer, president of Scheer & Company, moderated the panel discussion, which was part of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) Breakthrough Summit 2021. Presenters included…
A team of Danish researchers discovered that patients with cold agglutinin disease (CAD) utilize significantly more healthcare resources than the general population, both prior to diagnosis and 1-year post-diagnosis, according to a study published in Current Medical Research and Opinion. CAD is a rare form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia that currently has no approved treatment.…
A team of Italian researchers discovered that the flares experienced by patients with autoimmune cytopenias, such as cold agglutinin disease, were manageable after receiving SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. The benefit of receiving the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, and Astra-Zeneca far outweigh any potential risks, according to a letter published in the American Journal of Hematology. Because of…
Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare form of hemolytic anemia provoked by exposure to cold temperatures. When exposed to low enough temperatures, cold agglutinin antibodies demonstrate an increased affinity for carbohydrate antigens present on red blood cells (RBCs), leading to extravascular hemolysis. Cold agglutinins can arise in the setting of an underlying disease, such…
A team of researchers conducted a Europe-wide study of cold agglutinin disease to put pen to paper on what we understand about the disease.
