Hemophilia: Complications

The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be contributed to by hemophilia (hemophilia):

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

  • Infection with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, etc., due to therapy (direct blood donation, blood units, or blood plasma); today, only substitution therapy with blood factors.

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).

  • Joint damage due to joint hemorrhage (chronic hemarthrosis).
  • Muscle shrinkage, joint malalignment, and nerve damage due to muscle hemorrhage.

Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99).

  • Chronic pain from joint and muscle bleeding (arthritis/inflammatory joint disease, synovitis/arthritis, and arthropathy/joint disease) (86% of adult hemophilia patients; 66% of children and adolescents)

Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – reproductive organs) (N00-N99).

  • Priapism – erection lasting > 4 h without sexual stimulation; 95% of cases ischemic (due to reduced blood flow) or low-flow priapism (LFP), which is very painful; LFP can lead to irreversible erectile dysfunction after only 4 h; therapy: blood aspiration and possibly intracavernosal (i.c.) sympathomimetic injection; “high-flow” priapism (HFP) does not require immediate measures.

Further

  • Bleeding after injuries, operations, etc. – possible in all body cavities.