ULCERS AND GINGIVAL HEMORRHAGE AS SIGNS OF MEDULLARY APLASIA: CASE REPORT

Abstract

Medullary aplasia (MA) is a hematological disorder, characterized by a failure to produce numbers of blood cells by the hematopoietic precursor cells in the bone marrow. It is reported a case of a female patient, 33-year-old, white-skinned, who presented non-infiltrative painful ulcers, reddish and spots of gingival hemorrhage. Clinical diagnostic hypotheses were major recurrent aphthous stomatitis or herpes simplex and blood dyscrasia. A blood test was requested and revealed low levels of red blood cells, leukocytes, and platelets. The patient was referred to the hematologist, who made the diagnosis of MA with idiopathic etiology. The patient died soon after bone marrow transplantation due to lung infection. This case illustrates the importance of a dental physician in the diagnosis and investigation of hematological conditions, since, despite being rare diseases, these can be initially diagnosed in the dental office. Medullary aplasia (MA) is a hematological disorder, characterized by a failure to produce numbers of blood cells by the hematopoietic precursor cells in the bone marrow. It is reported a case of a female patient, 33-year-old, white-skinned, who presented non-infiltrative painful ulcers, reddish and spots of gingival hemorrhage. Clinical diagnostic hypotheses were major recurrent aphthous stomatitis or herpes simplex and blood dyscrasia. A blood test was requested and revealed low levels of red blood cells, leukocytes, and platelets. The patient was referred to the hematologist, who made the diagnosis of MA with idiopathic etiology. The patient died soon after bone marrow transplantation due to lung infection. This case illustrates the importance of a dental physician in the diagnosis and investigation of hematological conditions, since, despite being rare diseases, these can be initially diagnosed in the dental office.