Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases
An Unexpected Culprit: Neutropenia Secondary to Copper Deficiency in a Previously Healthy Patient
By Chumeng Wang, Jayaker Kolli and Karen de la Garza.
Abstract
Although patients are monitored for nutrient deficiencies after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), copper levels are not routinely assessed because they have traditionally been considered less clinically significant. A 64-year-old woman with prior RYGB presented with febrile neutropenia and suspicion for disseminated fungal infection. After other causes were excluded, her neutropenia was attributed to severe copper deficiency; supplementation led to improvement of her neutropenia. This case highlights the potential hematologic consequences of copper deficiency after RYGB and suggests that routine monitoring of copper levels during follow-up may be warranted to prevent complications such as severe neutropenia.
Keywords
- Open access
Source
Published in Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases. The abstract is shown as published and remains the work of its authors; read the full article at the source.
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