Yida Xing , Xiaodan Kong , Hongjiang Wang , Yan Zhang

Department of Rheumatology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Clinical Case Reports, 2013, Vol. 3, No. 14   doi: 10.5376/ijccr.2013.03.0014
Received: 29 Aug., 2013    Accepted: 30 Aug., 2013    Published: 30 Aug., 2013

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The association of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is rare, but it carries a high death rate and can be easily misdiagnosed. We report a case of TTP with SS and the related literature is reviewed. A previously healthy 72-year-old woman presented with an acute onset of marked thrombocytopenia and then dizziness, fatigue, fever and fainting. Schirmer's test was bilaterally positive, associated with positive Rose Bengal corneal staining. Radionuclide imaging of the glands showed abnormalities. The presence of anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibodies confirmed the diagnosis of SS. The patient was treated successfully with plasma exchange therapy, plasma infusion, glucocorticoid, and immunosuppressive agents. Her condition has remained stable after 6 months of follow-up. Only a few cases of SS complicated with TTP have been described in the literature. Rheumatologists should pay attention to this special condition because it is rare and has a high mortality rate.

Sjögren's syndrome; Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura; Autoimmune