Vitamin B12 deficiency not uncommon

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In print

FROM THE LAB

Vitamin B12 deficiency not uncommon

Fransisca De Silva

Tuesday 24 October 2017, 09:51 AM

Vitamin B12 deficiency is quite common in vegans and vegetarians

An elderly patient’s pancytopenia and severe anaemia raises the possibility of bone marrow malignancy, but her full lab results reveal other possible causes

A 74-year-old female presents with blackouts and paraesthesia of her upper and lower limbs. She is very pale and has no lymphadenopathy or hepatosplen

Diet and Nutrition

References

1. Wickramasinghe S. Diagnosis of megaloblastic anaemias. Blood Rev 2006;20:299–318.

2. Dali-Youcef N, Andres E. An update on cobalamin deficiency in adults. Quart J Med 2009;102:17–28.

3. Schirier S. Diagnosis and treatment of B12 and folate deficiency. Aetiology and clinical manifestations of vitamin B12 and folate deficiency. UpToDate Online

4. Devalia V, Hamilton MS, Molloy AM. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of cobalamin and folate disorders. Br J Haematol 2014;166:496–513.

5. Wong CW. Vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly: Is it worth screening. Hong Kong Med J 2015;21(2):155–64.

Practice archive

How to Treat

+How to treat

For older people and frail people, the long-term benefit of medicines reduces and the potential for harm from adverse effects increases. When the benefit–risk balance changes in this way, medicine review and optimisation are important to simplify the therapeutic regimen, reduce inappropriate medicines and minimise risks. In this article, pharmacist prescriber Linda Bryant uses two case studies to illustrate important considerations during medicine reviews

Wednesday 28 May 2025, 12:50 AM