Iron Deficiency Thrombocytopenia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Iron deficiency is a common cause of anemia in premenopausal women. Thrombocytopenia is rarely found in association with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), and its mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we present the case of a 41-year-old African-American woman who was found to have severe asymptomatic thrombocytopenia (platelet count 22,000/μL) in association with more moderate IDA (hemoglobin 8.5 g/dL). Both cytopenias resolved with oral iron replacement therapy in the absence of other therapeutics, such as corticosteroid therapy, and a diagnostic workup revealed no other cause for thrombocytopenia. We conclude that iron deficiency-associated thrombocytopenia should be considered in any case of thrombocytopenia accompanying IDA. Response of both anemia and thrombocytopenia to iron therapy should obviate the need for expensive evaluations and bone marrow examination.