A 29-year-old lady visits the emergency room after experiencing a fever and headache for a week. During the evaluation, the patient suffers a widespread tonic-clonic seizure. These are the lab's findings: The exhibit displays a peripheral blood smear. Which of the following is the condition of the patient most likely has an underlying cause?

Question

A 29-year-old lady visits the emergency room after experiencing a fever and headache for a week. During the evaluation, the patient suffers a widespread tonic-clonic seizure. These are the lab's findings:  The exhibit displays a peripheral blood smear.   Which of the following is the condition of the patient most likely has an underlying cause?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: The pentad of severe thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (e.g., schistocytes on peripheral smear), renal failure, neurologic symptoms, and fever traditionally characterizes thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. All of these symptoms and indicators, meanwhile, are infrequently present. Identification of severe ADAMTS-13 deficiency, a protease that removes big von Willebrand factor multimers from the endothelium, is frequently used to make the diagnosis.

A 29-Year-Old Lady Visits the Emergency Room After Experiencing a Fever