Successful treatment of hemorrhagic bullous Henoch‐Schonlein purpura with intravenous immunoglobulins

Henoch‐Schonlein purpura (HSP) is the most common systemic vasculitis in childhood. There is no consensus about the management for isolated cutaneous manifestations in HSP. We describe a case of HSP presenting with severe skin lesions that did not respond to standard therapy with corticosteroids. The 11‐year‐old child was treated with intravenous immunoglobulins, which induced rapid and persistent resolution of symptomatology.     

紫癜1号中药熏洗治疗小儿过敏性紫癜临床观察

目的观察紫癜1号中药熏洗治疗小儿过敏性紫癜的临床效果。方法选取收治的过敏性紫癜患者80例,按照研究方法的不同分为观察组和对照组,对照组患者40例,给予喜炎平注射液、维生素C注射液、葡萄糖酸钙注射液等进行治疗;观察组患者在对照组基础上采用紫癜1号中药熏洗进行治疗,比较2组患者的临床治疗效果、皮肤紫癜消退时间及关节肿痛缓解状况等相关指标。结果对照组患者的治疗有效率为75.0%,观察组患者的治疗有效率为97.5%,观察组治疗有效率显著高于对照组;观察组患儿皮肤紫癜消退时间为(4.10±1.02)d,少于对照组(7.69±1.79)d;观察组患者经治疗后关节肿痛情况完全缓解达到50.0%,缓解达到35.0%,明显优于对照组。结论紫癜1号中药熏洗治疗小儿过敏性紫癜,治疗效果明显,有效缩短患者紫癜消退时间及缓解关节痛的程度。     

Von Willebrand disease: diagnosis and management

Von Willebrand Disease is a common cause of excessive bruising and bleeding in children. This short article gives advice on diagnosis and management for paediatricians. Given its prevalence and presenting symptoms, VWD should always be considered in the assessment of children suspected of non-accidental injury. Its diagnosis can be challenging, not only because of the various subtypes of the disorder but because of the considerable overlap between VWD and normal individuals. Laboratory diagnosis requires a range of quantitative and qualitative tests of the VWF protein, with targeted gene analysis increasingly used to confirm the diagnosis of type 2 and type 3 VWD. Bleeding Assessment Tools may be helpful in directed laboratory testing but are often less so in young children who have had limited haemostatic challenges. Treatment for VWD includes the use of antifibrinolytic drugs, vasopressin or VWF-containing clotting factor concentrates. Treatment is often on-demand for individual bleeding episodes but there are specific indications for the use of prophylactic treatment in children.     

滋阴益肾法治疗特发性血小板减少性紫癜疗效及对患者血清IL-4、IL-6和免疫功能的影响

目的: 探讨滋阴益肾法治疗特发性血小板减少性紫癜(ITP)的疗效及对血清IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α及免疫功能的影响。方法:选取ITP患者84例,随机数字表法分为对照组和观察组,各42例。对照组采用口服泼尼松片治疗,观察组在对照组用药基础上给予滋阴益肾法治疗。比较两组临床疗效,治疗前后IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α、外周血T淋巴细胞亚群(CD₃⁺、CD₄⁺、CD₈⁺、CD₄⁺ /CD₈⁺)及免疫球蛋白水平变化情况。结果:两组治疗后中医症候积分明显降低,观察组优于对照组(P<0.05)。观察组总有效率95.24%高于对照组78.57%(P<0.05); 两组治疗后PLT计数均明显升高、PAIgG表达水平降低,观察组更明显(P<0.05); 两组治疗前IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α及外周血T淋巴细胞亚群水平比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05); 治疗后CD₃⁺、CD₄⁺、CD₄⁺ /CD₈⁺均升高,IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α、CD₈⁺均降低(P<0.05); 观察组治疗后CD₃⁺、CD₄⁺、CD₄⁺ /CD₈⁺均高于对照组,IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α、CD₈⁺均低于对照组(P<0.05)。治疗后观察组的血清IgA和IgG水平明显高于对照组(P<0.05),而血清IgM水平差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。两组不良反应情况比较无统计学差异(P>0.05)。结论: 滋阴益肾法可显著降低ITP患者血清IL-4、IL-6等因子水平,提高患者免疫能力。     

Preliminary laboratory based diagnostic criteria for immune thrombocytopenic purpura: evaluation by multi-center prospective study

BACKGROUND: We proposed diagnostic criteria for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) by modifying the existing guidelines for diagnosis of ITP and by incorporating laboratory tests found useful for predicting its diagnosis, for example erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibody-producing B cells, platelet-associated anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies, percentage of reticulated platelets, and plasma thrombopoietin. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To validate our criteria, we conducted a multi-center prospective study involving 112 patients with thrombocytopenia and a morphologically normal peripheral blood film at the first visit. Each patient underwent a physical examination, routine laboratory tests, and specialized tests for the anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibody response and platelet turnover. RESULTS: Ninety-one patients (81%) satisfied the proposed criteria at first visit. Clinical diagnosis was made by skilled hematologists > 6 months after the first visit; ITP was diagnosed in 88 patients and non-ITP disorders in 24. The proposed criteria had 98% sensitivity, 79% specificity, a 95% positive predictive value, and a 90% negative predictive value. A relatively low specificity appears to be attributed to a few patients who had both ITP and aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary diagnostic criteria based on ITP-associated laboratory findings were useful for the differential diagnosis of ITP, but additional evaluations and modifications will be necessary to develop criteria that can be used routinely.     

Platelet-binding immunoglobulins in pregnancy-induced hypertension I. Platelet-associated IgM on fetal platelets: evidence of a fetal autoimmune reaction?

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) can be complicated by maternal or fetal thrombocytopenia, or both. In order to investigate possible immunologic causes of these thrombocytopenias, platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) and IgM (PAIgM) were measured in mothers with PIH and in their infants and compared with those from patients with autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (ATP), a known immunodestructive platelet disorder. Many PIH patients (33.3%) and most ATP patients (68.1%) had elevated levels of maternal PAIgG. In both diseases, the amount of PAIgG was directly proportional with the degree of thrombocytopenia (r = 0.446 in PIH and R = 0.668 for ATP). But in neither disease did the degree of maternal thrombocytopenia correlate with the degree of neonatal thrombocytopenia (r = 0.153 for PIH and R = 0.175 for ATP). Umbilical cord samples from PIH patients contained PAIgG (53.3%) and PAIgM (53.8%), whereas the umbilical cord samples from ATP patients had elevated amounts of PAIgG but not PAIgM. PAIgM in the umbilical cord blood could not be accounted for by IgM rheumatoid factors, IgM-containing immune complexes, or non-specific adsorption because of elevated total IgM levels. The umbilical cord blood PAIgM was probably not of maternal origin because it was observed even when the maternal blood contained no PAIgM and maternal IgM is not normally transported transplacentally. Therefore, the PAIgM appears to be of fetal origin. These results suggest that both maternal and fetal immunologic mechanisms may be involved in PIH-induced thrombocytopenia; if so, this is one of the first reported examples of a possible fetal autoimmune response.