Atypical congenital haemolytic anaemia.

The most common type of congenital haemolytic anaemia found in Great Britain is familial haemolytic anaemia (chronic acholuric jaundice). A similar congenital haemolytic anaemia may be found on rare occasions in children in whom the red cells do not show spherocytosis, or increased osmotic fragility. The response to splenectomy is not very satisfactory and the syndrome does not fit into the established pattern of familial haemolytic anaemia. Cases of this type have already been described by Haden (1947), Crosby (1950), Kaplan and Zuelzer (1950) and by Dacie, Mollison, Richardson, Selwyn and Shapiro (1953). The following is a further example of this atypical (non-spherocytic) congenital haemolytic anaemia.