Megaloblastic, dyserythropoietic anemia following arsenic ingestion.

Following acute arsenic ingestion, a 35 year old woman experienced multiple organ failure, including renal and respiratory insufficiency, toxic hepatitis, peripheral neuropathy, and encephalopathy. In addition, she developed an anemia; the bone marrow showed a striking dyserythropoiesis with megaloblastic features. Her recovery was heralded by normalization of the bone marrow morphology, followed by improvement in all other organ dysfunction except for the peripheral neuropathy. Arsenic poisoning is a cause of megaloblastic anemia; early hematologic recovery suggests favorable prognosis.