Acquired hemophilia in an elderly patient

Case report

Abstract

Acquired hemophilia is a rare but highly fatal hemostatic disorder that occurs predominantly in elderly people. It is a secondary disorder to the development of specific autoantibodies directed against coagulation factor VIII. They are characterized by presentation of potentially fatal hemorrhages at the gastrointestinal, pulmonary, retroperitoneal, soft tissue or intracranial level, so it requires early diagnoses and effective treatments. The present case is of a 78-year-old man with gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with ecchymosis and hematomas of sudden onset in soft tissues and as a complication presents laryngeal hematoma, with prolonged partial prothrombin time (PTT), elevated factor VIII levels and inhibitor levels of high factor VIII.