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Scurvy: Dietary Discretion in a Developed Country

Although the causes have changed, scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) is still diagnosed in developed countries. We report a case of an 18-year-old female who presented to our emergency department with thrombocytopenia, sinus tachycardia, hypotension, fatigue, gingival hyperplasia, knee effusion, petechia...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Perry, Megan E., Page, Nathan, Manthey, David E., Zavitz, Joshua M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: University of California Irvine, Department of Emergency Medicine publishing Western Journal of Emergency Medicine 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5965115/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29849264
http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/cpcem.2018.1.36860
Descripción
Sumario:Although the causes have changed, scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) is still diagnosed in developed countries. We report a case of an 18-year-old female who presented to our emergency department with thrombocytopenia, sinus tachycardia, hypotension, fatigue, gingival hyperplasia, knee effusion, petechiae and ecchymosis in lower extremities. The differential diagnosis included hematologic abnormalities, infectious etiologies, vasculitis and vitamin deficiency. A brief dietary history was performed revealing poor fruit and vegetable intake, thus increasing our suspicion for vitamin C deficiency. This experience illustrates the importance of a dietary history and reminds us to keep scurvy in the differential diagnosis.