Breaking Stereotypes: Polycythemia Secondary to Shisha Smoking in a Middle-Age Swiss Woman

The diagnosis of polycythemia, particularly the secondary forms, can be challenging. The distinction between primary and secondary polycythemia is relevant and has management implications. A systematic diagnostic workup algorithm and a good anamnesis are of paramount relevance. More than one cause may be involved in the development of polycythemia, identifying all of them will be the key to better understanding and eventually solving the polycythemia. We describe a case of a 53-year-old Swiss woman with polycythemia and a high level of carboxyhemoglobin. Her medical story included obesity and obstructive sleep apnea. The anamnesis ruled out the habit of smoking cigarettes; however, the patient reported that she was on a trip to Egypt 10 years before and bought herself a shisha; since then, she used to smoke shisha daily, at home, alone. After drastically reducing and then stopping the shisha smoking, 7 months later her blood count and carboxyhemoglobin completely normalized.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Breaking Stereotypes: Polycythemia Secondary to Shisha Smoking in a Middle-Age Swiss Woman ; volume:145 ; number:6 ; year:2022 ; pages:650-654 ; extent:5 ; Acta haematologica ; 145, Heft 6 (2022), 650-654 (gesamt 5)

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Urheber: Agbariah, Nada ; Rovó, Alicia

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.1159/000526016
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022120723354045802009
• Rechteinformation: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 15.08.2025, 07:24 MESZ