Reversible Hyperpigmentation: A Diagnostic Dilemma

Authors

  • Somnath Maitra Associate Professor, General Medicine, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Buita, Budge Budge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7906-3570
  • Kaushik Hazra Assistant Professor, General Medicine, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Buita, Budge Budge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
  • Biswaroop Mukherjee Associate Professor, General Medicine, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Buita, Budge Budge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v12i6.34462

Keywords:

Anemia, Vitamin B12 deficiency, Acral hyperpigmentation

Abstract

Vitamin B12 deficiency presents as megaloblastic anemia with neurological, skin and other clinical manifestations. We present here an interesting case of anemia presenting with generalized weakness and nonspecific symptoms in a female who is a vegetarian. There was acral hyperpigmentation without any other clinical features, Investigations revealed megaloblastic anemia with low vitamin B12 and normal RBC folate levels. The patient improved after blood transfusion and intramuscular vitamin B12 injections and the skin lesions faded away suggesting vitamin B12 deficiency to be the cause of hyperpigmentation, which is an uncommon manifestation. The importance lies in the fact that this cause of reversible hyperpigmentation should be thought of by clinicians to start prompt treatment.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
191
PDF
305

Downloads

Published

2021-06-01

How to Cite

Maitra, S., Hazra, K., & Mukherjee, B. (2021). Reversible Hyperpigmentation: A Diagnostic Dilemma. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(6), 133–135. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v12i6.34462

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 6 (2021)

Section

Case Reports

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The journal holds copyright and publishes the work under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license that permits use, distribution and reprduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. The journal should be recognised as the original publisher of this work.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).