Hypertriglyceridemia Thalassemia Syndrome: Common Disease, Uncommon Association

• DOI: 10.1007/s12098-016-2062-x
• Publication Date: 2016-03-03T00:51:01Z
• Authors: Lipsa Das; Madhusudan Samprathi; Umesh Shukla; Debapriya Bandyop...; Rashmi Ranjan Das
• Keywords: Hypertriglyceridemia; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; beta-Thalassemia; Humans; Infant; Thalassemia; Blood Transfusion; Syndrome; 3. Good health

Hypertriglyceridemia has been rarely described with thalassemia, an entity called hypertriglyceridemia-thalassemia syndrome. The authors describe a young infant diagnosed with thalassemia major with severe hypertriglyceridemia. The presence of severe hypertriglyceridemia in this child which rapidly resolved after transfusion, probably suggests a self limited mechanism which may not require therapy. Though hypertriglyceridemia has been reported with hemolytic anemias, the mechanism is unclear. This case illustrates that thalassemia may be associated with hypertriglyceridemia; once familial and secondary causes are ruled out, clinicians may wait for spontaneous resolution before considering specific therapy.