Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Obituaries

Ann McPherson

BMJ 2011; 342 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d3424 (Published 02 June 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d3424

Rapid Response:

Ann McPherson and G6PD Deficiency

Charles Warlow has written an excellent obituary about Ann McPherson. He cites the example of her admitting a female patient with glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency despite the protestations of a haughty registrar. Ann may have been correct but G6PD deficiency is an x-linked disorder and is consequently very rare in females. Homozygous females or those exhibiting extreme Lyonization may be affected. I wonder if the woman she admitted genuinely had this disorder or whether the 'haughty' registrar might have had a point?

Competing interests: None declared

Competing interests:

05 June 2011
TJ Littlewood
Doctor
Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust