Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (PCH)

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Blood cells

Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (PCH) is a rare blood disorder in which the body's immune system produced antibodies that destroy red blood cells when they go from cold to warm temperatures.

PCH

Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria only occurs in the cold, and affects mainly the hands and feet. Antibodies attach (bind) to red blood cells, which allows other proteins in the blood (called complement) to also latch on. The antibodies destroy the red blood cells as they they move through the body and get rewarmed. As the cells are destroyed, hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen, is released into the blood and passed in the urine.

PCH has been linked to secondary syphilis, tertiary syphilis, and other viral or bacterial infections. Sometimes the cause is unknown.

The disorder is rare.

Review Date: 03/28/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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