DOI: 10.36347/sjmcr.2014.v02i04.002

Pages: 226-228

Polycythemia vera is a rare clonal disorder originating in a single aberrant hematopoietic precursor cell (stem cell) in the bone marrow. Characteristic features are increased erythrocyte mass, splenomegaly, increased platelet count, and neutrophilia. PV, essentially a disease of older age (60-80), usually presents with non-specific complaints like headache, tiredness, vertigo, visual disturbances, epigastric burning or thrombotic phenomenon. We report a case of 38 year old male who presented to us with pain abdomen, pruritis,fever, headache, melena , swelling in the left uper abdomen and raised haematocrit who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for Polycythemia Vera. Treatment strongly affects survival. Hence high index of suspicion, even in a young male, is essential in spite of the nonspecific presentation.