Hereditary Elliptocytosis - Case Report of a Rare Entity

Hereditary elliptocytosis is a rare hemolytic disorder characterized by the presence of elliptical red blood cells. It has heterogenous clinical presentation ranging from asymptomatic carriers to severe hemolytic anemia. Majority of the cases are asymptomatic and are incidentally diagnosed on routine blood examinations. Here we present a case of incidentally diagnosed hereditary elliptocytosis because of its rarity. A 25 year old married female presented with chronic headache to the out patient department with the clinical diagnosis of migraine. Routine peripheral smear examination revealed elliptical red blood cells accounting to 70 %. family screening was done and the mother of the patient revealed elliptocytes in her peripheral smear (60 %) and hence the diagnosis of hereditary elliptocytosis was made.