Vitamin B₁₂ in macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy and the puerperium

Abstract

It has been conclusively proved that vitamin B₁₂ is haemopoietically effective in Addisonian pernicious anaemia and subacute combined degeneration (West, 1948; Berk et al., 1948; Ungley, 1948a; Spies et al., 1949; Hall and Campbell, 1948a, 1948b), in nutritional macrocytic anaemia and sprue (Spies et al., 1948a, 1948b, 1949), and in tropical macrocytic anaemia (Patel, 1948). But the reported results of treatment of macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy with vitamin B₁₂ have not been encouraging. Ungley (1948b) was unsuccessful with 65 μg. of vitamin B₁₂ in a case of megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy which responded afterwards to 2.5 mg. of folic acid (pteroylglutamic acid) given daily. Bethell et al. (1948) treated one case of puerperal macrocytic anaemia with 1/g. of vitamin B₁₂ for 10 days without any response, though it subsequently responded to 10 mg. of folic acid administered daily. Day et al. (1949) treated a case of macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy with a total of 27.5μg. of vitamin B₁₂ without any response, though there was subsequent response to folic acid. We here present the results of the treatment of five cases of macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy and the puerperium with vitamin B₁₂.