IMPORTANT: We currently have a number of bugs related to image cropping and are actively trying to resolve them. In the meantime, we have disabled cropping. Apologies for any inconvenience. Stay informed: radiopaedia.org/chat

Beta thalassemia

Case contributed by Ian Bickle
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Beta thalassemia patient with a fever. Collection?

Patient Data

Age: 20 years
Gender: Female
ct

CT chest

  • small paravertebral soft tissue abnormalities in keeping with extramedullary hematopoiesis
  • lungs clear

CT abdomen

  • hepatomegaly. The liver is diffusely hyperdense
  • multiple tiny low attenuation foci in the liver, likely to represent small abscesses
  • moderate splenomegaly
  • multiple enlarged lymph nodes/necrotic lymph nodes in the upper abdomen, the para-aortic space, small bowel mesentery and left anterior abdomen
  • mild free ascites
  • small gallstones
  • coarse texture to the bony skeleton

Case Discussion

Fellowship exam long or viva case example of a thalassemia patient.

Features evident:

  • extramedullary hematopoiesis (typical paravertebral location)
  • hyperattenuating liver from repeat blood transfusions given secondary hemochromatosis
  • gallstones
  • hepatosplenomegaly (or splenectomy or infarcted spleen in other cases)
  • coarse appearance to the bones

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.