Donath-Landsteiner Hemolytic Anemia

aroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (PCH, also called Donath-Landsteiner hemolytic anemia or Donath-Landsteiner syndrome) is an uncommon autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in which autoantibodies to red blood cells bind to the cells in cold temperatures and fix complement, which can cause intravascular hemolysis upon warming.
PCH is challenging because it is a rare disorder and patients can become quite ill from intravascular hemolysis. There are also other cold-induced disorders such as cold agglutinin disease and cryoglobulinemia that may be confused with PCH (table 1).

This topic discusses the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management of PCH are discussed here. Separate topic reviews discuss warm AIHA and other conditions in which autoantibodies react in the cold to cause clinical disease:

●Warm AIHA in children – (See “Overview of hemolytic anemias in children”.)

●Warm AIHA in adults – (See “Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in adults”.)

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