A Case of Infectious Mononucleosis Complicated by Severe Thrombocytopenia and Hyperuricemia

Abstract

Infectious mononucleosis (IM) by Epstein-Barr virus is usually a benign, self-limiting disease. Mild to moderate immune thrombocytopenia in the setting of IM is very common and appears in approximately half of these patients, however it rarely presents in severe form and troublesome haemorrhage is even rarer. Rapid spontaneous resolution is possible, with the role of steroids being controversial. Furthermore, elevation of the levels of uric acid because of immune thrombocytopenia is observed in high frequency; however this finding is usually not mentioned. It is attributed to a transient increase in purine turnover, it appears more often in men (with its peak within the first 2 weeks of IM) and it is treated with intravenous fluids and bicarbonates. The present case report describes the case of a young female patient who develops severe thrombocytopenia and intense hyperuricemia following an Epstein-Barr infection. No severe bleeding appeared, levels of uric acid normalised within the first two weeks of treatment and platelet levels rise back to normal within a month under corticosteroid therapy.