IN THE majority of affected families the inheritance of Christmas disease (hemophilia B) is of the same X-linked recessive pattern as true hemophilia (hemophilia A), resulting in a transmission of the disease to men by apparently healthy female carriers. In a small number of instances, however, carriers of the Christmas disease gene have been reported with bleeding symptoms. This report describes Christmas disease in an 11-year-old girl and is the second reported case in which hemarthrosis was observed in a female carrier.
Report of a Case
An 11-year-old white girl had her first episode of excessive bleeding at the age of 2 years when she bled for one week from a scalp laceration which had been cauterized and sutured. At 5 years she bled for two weeks following a tooth extraction despite plasma infusions. At 8 years of age she bit her tongue and again bled for two weeks in