Ahoy! A Modern Day Case of Scurvy
Wendy Gu, MD; Mark Henderson, MD, FACP
University of California, Davis Medical Center; Sacramento, CA
Learning objectives
Workup and clinical course
• Six percent of the U.S. population greater
than 6 years of age is vitamin C deficient.
• transfused two units of pRBCs with
appropriate rise in H/H
• Classic signs: weakness, anemia, tooth
loss, gum bleeding, bruises, petechiae.
• started on vitamin C supplementation
-one-time intramuscular dose
-500 mg daily in addition to an MVI
• Diagnosis is confirmed with an ascorbic
acid level.
One month later in hematology clinic
• hemoglobin 13 g/dL
• ascorbic acid level 2.2 mg/dL
• Patient did not report any new
hematomas or syncopal events
• Thorough history-taking is key to
diagnosis, especially when laboratory and
imaging workup for anemia is unrevealing.
Case Presentation
Discussion
• 56 year old Caucasian man admitted from
hematology clinic after a syncopal episode
• Classic clinical manifestations of scurvy are well
described in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman
literature:
-weakness, anemia, tooth loss, gum
bleeding, bruises, petechiae, and vasomotor
insufficiency.
• regained consciousness after
approximately 30 seconds
-denied confusion, palpitations, or focal
neurological deficits
• reported non-traumatic lower extremity
bruising for several months:
-had been admitted to an outside hospital
seven weeks earlier for presyncope and
orthostatic hypotension
-was found to be anemic but an extensive
hematologic workup did not reveal the
etiology
• PMH: iron deficiency anemia and localized
esophageal cancer treated with
chemoradiation and esophagectomy in
2003
Iron studies:
Fe 27 mcg/DL (40-190)
TIBC 362 mcg/dL (260-420)
Ferritin 114 ng/mL (22-415)
Fe Sat 7% (11-46)
ANA
Negative (<1:40)
Collagen/epi
54 sec (94-193)
Collagen/ADP
>300 sec (71-118)
Factor V, VIII, IX, X, and XIII All normal
activity level
von Willebrand Factor Ag
235% (normal 50-150)
vWF activity level
B12 and folate normal
Reticulocyte studies:
• retic percentage 5.05 % (0.66 to
2.85)
• absolute retic count 128.0 k/uL
(27.9 to 121.6)
254% (normal 50-170)
• No family history of bleeding disorders
• Was not taking warfarin, aspirin, or
NSAIDs
• thrombin time normal
• factor VII activity normal
haptoglobin 317 mg/dL (34-200)
LDH 161 IU/L (90-208)
Myoglobin 109 ng/mL (20-82)
CPK 64 IU/L (36-340)
Ascorbic acid:
0.0 mg/dL
• major cause of morbidity and death during the
Great Potato Famine, American Civil War, and
California gold rush
• Ascorbic acid:
-Required for proline and lysine hydroxylation
in collagen formation
-Deficiency  abnormal collagen  capillary
fragility
• Scurvy remains a relevant differential diagnosis in
the workup of anemia in the first-world
• Have a high clinical suspicion
• HISTORY IS KEY:
-Dietary habits, dentition, transportation
-Check an ascorbic acid level when
evaluating for other potential hematologic
etiologies of anemia