Plummer-Vinson syndrome is characterized by cervical dysphagia, iron deficiency and the presence of esophageal membranes. We report two cases of this syndrome present in adolescent brothers with associated thalassemia. After oral iron therapy, their hematimetric levels showed no increase, which associated with the results of hemoglobin electrophoresis, sustained the diagnosis of thalassemia. Due to the condition of the children, the parents were submitted to hemoglobin electrophoresis examinations; the father was diagnosed as having minor alpha/beta thalassemia and the mother as minor beta thalassemia. Both patients suffered from refractory dysphagia and required endoscopic dilatation. They both underwent venous iron therapy, which improved the hematimetric levels.
Plummer-Vinson syndrome; dysphagia; thalassemia; iron deficiency anemia
