A patient with visceral leishmaniasis may have an immune reaction that may mimic systemic lupus erythematosus or cause a positive direct antiglobulin (Coombs) test.
Patient selection: visceral leishmaniasis
Presentation: positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT)
The positive DAT may be due to bound IgG and/or complement.
A patient with visceral leishmaniasis may also have antiplatelet and antileukocyte autoantibodies.
The presence of autoantibodies may contribute to the pancytopenia seen in kala azar either through complement-mediated lysis or sequestration in the spleen.
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