Upper airway obstruction-related sleep apnea in a child with thalassemia intermedia

Josef Kapelushnik*, Hannah Shalev, Hannah Schulman, Asher Moser, Hannah Tamary

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea can be caused by hypertrophy of tonsils and adenoids or neuromuscular diseases. The authors describe a child with thalassemia intermedia in whom severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome developed. Computed tomography scanning revealed an obstruction of the nasopharynx resulting from extramedullary hematopoiesis. The child was treated with hydroxyurea and blood transfusions. Relief of symptoms was noted 1.5 months after initial treatment. Extramedullary hematopoiesis causes sleep apnea syndrome in thalassemic patients, and the treatment of hydroxyurea and blood transfusion for extramedullary hematopoiesis should be further studied.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)525-526
Number of pages2
JournalAmerican Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Volume23
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Airway obstruction
  • Extramedullary hematopoiesis
  • Sleep apnea
  • Thalassemia intermedia

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