Pancytopenia, a rare hematologic manifestation of brucellosis in children

The records of 54 children with brucellosis were evaluated retrospectively. Among them, eight patients (14.8%) with pancytopenia were identified in a 7-year period between 1996 and 2003. Six of the eight patients with pancytopenia had Brucella melitensis isolated from blood cultures, and all eight patients had Brucella agglutination titers of at least 1:320. Agglutination test titers did not correlate with the degree of pancytopenia. Fever was the most common manifestation, followed by malaise, anorexia, sweating, weight loss, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Most patients had hepatosplenomegaly, and bone marrow aspiration specimens showed hyper-cellularity or normocellularity. Hemophagocytosis (3 patients) and histiocytic hyperplasia (4 patients) were observed in bone marrow examinations of eight patients, but bone marrow aplasia and granulomas were not detected. All children recovered completely; the pancytopenia was transient and resolved after the antibiotic treatment of Brucella infection. Brucellosis should be considered as a possible diagnosis among patients with pancytopenia.     

A Prospective Study of Brucellosis in Children: Relative Frequency of Pancytopenia

Objective

Hematological complications of brucellosis are common. Pancytopenia, although mainly reported in adults, has also been described in children with brucellosis. This investigation was conducted to estimate the relative frequency of pancytopenia in children with brucellosis.

Methods

The current study was conducted in Al-Khafji Joint Operations Hospital, Saudi Arabia. Sixty patients with brucellosis were enrolled in the study. Complete blood count (CBC) and blood culture were performed for all cases. Bone marrow (BM) aspiration was considered only in those with pancytopenia.

Findings

Out of 60 children with brucellosis, 50 (83%) ingested raw animal milk and 27 (45%) had a positive family history of brucellosis. The common presenting symptoms and signs included: excessive sweating (68%), bone aches (62%), chills (55%), arthritis (32%), hepatomegaly (18%) and splenomegaly (15%). The main hematological manifestations included: anemia (43%), leukopenia (38%) and leukocytosis (20%). Pancytopenia was detected in 11 (18%) patients. Blood culture for Brucella was positive in 38% (23 patients). B. melitensis from 21 patients was cultured in vitro. Out of 9 BM aspirate cultures, 3 were positive for B. melitensis. Out of 11 patients with pancytopenia, 9 (82%) patients had bone aches and weakness, 7 (64%) patients sweating and chills, 6 (55%) patients petechiae and purpura.

Conclusion

The current study concludes that although pancytopenia is an uncommon complication of brucellosis in children, it does occur. Therefore, brucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancytopenia in children, particularly in endemic areas such as Saudi Arabia.     

Flow cytometry and morphology analysis of bone marrow in a child with brucellosis and hematologic manifestations

Constitutional symptoms and pancytopenia are occasionally the initial presentation of pediatric brucellosis. Therefore, in endemic areas, in children with pancytopenia, both brucellosis and malignancy should be included in the deferential diagnosis. We report here a child with pancytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly as manifestations of brucellosis in whom bone marrow morphology and flow cytometry data revealed hemophagocytosis, left shift in myeloid cells and activation changes in antigenic properties of T and B lymphocytes and monocytes. The patient had an uneventful and complete recovery after appropriate antibiotic therapy. Our report demonstrates that bone marrow and flow cytometry findings in children with brucellosis may include significant reactive changes in hematopoiesis.     

Bone marrow hypoplasia during Brucella infection

Pancytopenia, although mainly reported in adults, has also been described in children with brucellosis. However, bone marrow hypoplasia is a rare feature of the infection. An 11-year-old boy was admitted with fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain of 10 days' duration. On physical examination, pallor and high fever were detected in the absence of lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly. His hemoglobin was 8.6 g/dL, white blood cell count 1,100/mm(3), neutrophil count 500/mm(3), platelets 56,000/mm(3), and reticulocytes 0.1%. Hypocellular bone marrow was found by aspiration, and bone marrow biopsy revealed hypocellularity. The agglutination titer was greater than 1/640. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was prescribed. His fever subsided and pancytopenia subsequently improved. Pancytopenia associated with brucellosis is attributed to hypersplenism, hemophagocytosis, and granulomatous lesions of the bone marrow, which is usually hypercellular. Bone marrow hypoplasia is rarely reported and should be kept in mind in the etiology of aplastic anemia in a country where brucellosis is frequently encountered.     

Childhood brucellosis in north-western Greece: A retrospective analysis

Fifty-two cases of childhood brucellosis which occurred in north-western Greece during the 15-year period 1979–1993, are reviewed. It is believed that they represent very closely the total incidence of the disease in the region which has a population of 100,000 children aged 0–14 years old. Brucellosis-affected children were almost exclusively from goat-or shepherd families and of both sexes and all age groups. A broad spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from malaise only to brain abscess was observed. Fever and arthralgia were the most common manifestations followed by malaise, myalgia, sweating, rash, cough, and gastro-intestinal, cardiac and CNS involvement. Splenomegaly was found more often than hepatomegaly and lymphadenopathy. Laboratory findings included anaemia, leukopenia, neutropenia, lymphocytopenia, monocytosis, eosinophilia, thrombocytopenia and pancytopenia. Leukocytosis and lymphocytosis were extremely rare and ESR and serum C-reactive protein levels were mildly elevated. All patients had positive Rose Bengal slide agglutination tests and standard tube agglutination titres of 160 or more. When performed, blood culture was often diagnostic. The children were treated with streptomycin for 2 weeks plus either tetracyclines or trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole for 3 weeks. Treatment was well tolerated. Relapse was observed in one case.     

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目的提高对小儿急性淋巴细胞白血病前期(Pre-ALL)的认识。方法对西安市儿童医院1997—2004收治的6例Pre-ALL患儿的临床经过及实验室的特点进行分析,并复习相关文献。结果男4例,女2例,年龄2岁3个月至8岁7个月,6例均有发热、贫血、出血。初诊为再生障碍性贫血(AA)5例、骨髓异常增生综合征(MDS)1例。4例出现肝、脾、淋巴结肿大(非同时),三系细胞减少,骨髓穿刺涂片示:增生减低4例,重度减低2例;骨髓病理活检:4例均示脂肪组织增多,造血组织减少;2例出现干抽的患儿伴有纤维组织增生,2例出现病态造血。经或不经糖皮质激素治疗,在1~9个月内均转变为急性淋巴细胞白血病(ALL)。3例接受VDLP方案治疗获完全缓解。结论6例转变为ALL,对化疗敏感,部分Pre-ALL有形态学异常。     

儿童全血细胞减少症354例临床分析

目的 探讨引起儿童全血细胞减少的病因学及临床特征.方法 对354例在我科就诊的初发全血细胞减少症的患儿临床资料进行回顾性分析.结果 急性白血病和再生障碍性贫血为儿童全血细胞减少的主要病因,两者共占本组病例的71.2％;其次为噬血细胞综合征（9.9％）、感染（5.1％）、巨幼细胞性贫血（4.5％）以及免疫相关性全血细胞减少症（3.1％）,累积共占据了本组患儿的22.6％;其余病因比较少见,包括脾功能亢进、朗格罕细胞组织细胞增生症、神经母细胞瘤、脂质代谢异常、骨髓增生异常综合征、系统性红斑狼疮等,共占本组病例6.5％.中性粒细胞≤0.5×109/L者发热几率90％;血小板≤20×109/L者出血倾向严重,8.5％伴有内部脏器出血;血液系统疾病患者血红蛋白多数都波动在60 ～ 90 g/L,而非造血系统疾病血红蛋白＞90 g/L.结论 引起儿童全血细胞减少症的病因复杂,病种繁多,除急性白血病和再障外,噬血细胞综合征、感染、巨幼细胞性贫血是常见病因,其余少见病最初较难确诊,应引起儿科医生重视,就诊时血红蛋白水平可能对是否为血液系统疾病有提示意义.     

Presentation and outcomes for children with bone marrow necrosis and acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a literature review

Bone marrow necrosis is a rare histopathology finding with the majority of cases occurring in the setting of a hematologic malignancy. This article reports a case of diffuse marrow necrosis in a child secondary to acute lymphoblastic leukemia and summarizes the clinical features and outcomes for children with bone marrow necrosis secondary to leukemia from 20 published reports. This review demonstrated that the most common presenting features were bone pain, fever, pancytopenia, and that outcomes were less favorable when compared with those without necrosis. However, contemporary literature suggests that outcomes are similar for children who have bone marrow necrosis secondary to leukemia when compared with overall survival rates for pediatric leukemia.     

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for children with myelodysplastic syndrome

Six children with myelodysplastic syndrome underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from their HLA-identical siblings. Ages ranged from six to 16 years. French-American British (FAB) diagnosis was refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB) in three, RAEB in transformation (RAEB-t) in one and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) in two cases. Two patients had progressed to leukemia before BMT. All patients received busulfan and cyclophosphamide as a conditioning regimen. Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) was administered to two of them due to the multiple transfusion history. Graft versus host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine-methotrexate. Engraftment was documented in all patients except one who underwent a second infusion of bone marrow cells. She died in the early post-transplant period with pancytopenia and veno-occlusive disease of the liver. Two patients died from disease recurrence. Three patients are alive > 12 months post-transplant, two are in remission and one just relapsed at +16 months and is now being prepared for a second bone marrow transplant. The only significant factor for favorable outcome was short duration between diagnosis to transplant in the two patients in remission.     

Phagocytic macrophages in the bone marrow biopsies of children with Hodgkin's disease

Phagocytic macrophages in bone marrow aspirates have been described as normal and are frequently observed in autoimmune disorders. They are rarely seen in bone marrow biopsies. We observed phagocytosis of leukocytes and nuclear debris by macrophages in the bone marrow biopsies in 20 of 26 children with Hodgkin's disease before therapy. In contrast, phagocytic activity was present in only 1 of 16 children with solid tumors and 4 of 17 children receiving chemotherapy for neoplasia other than Hodgkin's disease. In all groups the marrow was not directly involved by tumor. The presence of macrophage activity did not correlate with clinical stage or histological type of Hodgkin's disease or with the peripheral blood count. Its increased frequency in patients with Hodgkin's disease may reflect abnormal macrophage function in those patients.     

Metastatic malignant melanoma presenting as pancytopenia in a three-year-old boy

Malignant melanoma is rare in childhood and has never been reported to cause pancytopenia due to bone marrow metastases in a child. We report a 3-year-old boy with a large congenital melanocytic nevus who presented with bone pain and pancytopenia due to diffuse bone and bone marrow infiltration with metastatic melanoma without an identifiable primary site. Despite treatment with imatinib mesylate there was no response and the patient died with progressive disease. This case illustrates an unusual presentation of bone marrow failure secondary to malignant melanoma in a young child with symptomatic metastatic marrow infiltration, a rarely reported site of melanoma involvement in adults or children.     

Phagocytic Macrophages in the Bone Marrow Biopsies of Children with Hodgkin's Disease

Phagocytic macrophages in bone marrow aspirates have been described as normal and are frequently observed in autoimmune disorders. They are rarely seen in bone marrow biopsies. We observed phagocytosis of leukocytes and nuclear debris by macrophages in the bone marrow biopsies in 20 of 26 children with Hodgkin's disease before therapy.

In contrast, phagocytic activity was present in only 1 of 16 children with solid tumors and 4 of 17 children receiving chemotherapy for neoplasia other than Hodgkin 's disease. In all groups the marrow was not directly involved by tumor. The presence of macrophage activity did not correlate with clinical stage or histological type of Hodgkin's disease or with the peripheral blood count. Its increased frequency in patients with Hodgkin's disease may reflect abnormal macrophage function in those patients.     

Rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin Treatment in Childhood Acquired Severe Aplastic Anemia

Acquired severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a life threatening bone marrow failure characterized by pancytopenia and hypocellular bone marrow. Matched sibling donor is not available for majority of the patients and many children receive immunosuppressive therapy (IST). Although horse antithymocyte globuline (ATG) is the preferred option, our patients received rabbit ATG; since horse ATG is not available in Turkey. We reviewed the medical records of children with SAA who were treated with rabbit ATG, cyclosporine, and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) between 2006 and 2012. Fifteen children with SAA aged between 1.5 and 17 years received rabbit ATG as first line treatment. Only two of them showed partial response and the others did not give any response at 3rd, 6th, and 12th months after the first course of IST. The second course of ATG was given to 8 of the patients; Rabbit ATG at the same dosage was used for 3 of them, and others were given horse ATG. None of the patients responded to the second course of ATG. Invasive fungal infection (IFI) which was seen in 80% of the patients was the most significant problem. Overall survival rate was 60%. The median time between the diagnosis and initiation of IST was 57 (range; 29–144) days. This delay might be significantly contributed to unresponsiveness. In our series, the use of rabbit ATG was not effective for these patients as first line treatment modality. Response rate was very low and the incidence of fungal infections was very high in the SAA patients who received rabbit ATG.     

Improved Prognosis for Children with Stage IV Neuroblastoma: High-Dose Melphalan and Autologous Unpurged Marrow Transplantation after Aggressive Surgery and Short Chemotherapy with Cisplatinum and Etoposide

A new therapeutic approach was adopted for 13 consecutive patients with stage IV neuroblastoma over 1 year of age admitted to the Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, between October 1981 and August 1985. Treatment was based on induction, with aggressive, repealed early surgery and a relatively short course of chemotherapy with cisplatinum and etoposide, and on consolidation, with 140-180 mg/m² of melphalan followed by autologous unpurged bone marrow. Induction therapy failed in only 2 of the 13 patients. One of the two was never autografted. So a total of 12 children underwent autologous marrow transplantations, 10 in primary and 1 in secondary remission, and one with residual disease. One patient died in septicemia during postmelphalan pancytopenia, and four patients relapsed 0.3-2.9 years after transplantation. Seven of the original 13 patients (54 %) are well and living in continuous remission 2.3-4.1 (median 2.8) years after diagnosis.     

Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in children

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and diagnostic features of children presenting with haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), evolution of the disease and outcomes in response to treatment. METHODOLOGY: The medical records of 12 children, aged 5 weeks to 13 years at diagnosis, with HLH managed at a single institution were reviewed. RESULTS: Presenting features were fever, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia and hypertriglyceridemia or hypofibrinogenemia. Nine patients (75%) developed central nervous system (CNS) disease. Only one child with CNS disease survived. Five children had complete responses to therapy (42%), but all relapsed at a median of 1.5 months after starting treatment (range 2 weeks to 5 months). Two of the children treated are long-term survivors (17%), both after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. All deaths occurred in the context of active disease. CONCLUSIONS: Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is a disease with a poor prognosis. Central nervous system complications are common and response to treatment usually is transient. This study provides support for the use of immunomodulatory therapy for remission introduction followed by consideration of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.     

High-dose melphalan therapy for the treatment of children with refractory neuroblastoma and Ewing's sarcoma

Neuroblastoma and Ewing's sarcoma are examples of pediatric cancers in which disseminated disease is often present at diagnosis or develops later in spite of combination therapy. The demonstration that marrow-ablative doses of chemotherapy can increase tumor cell kill, and that autologous bone marrow can be cryopreserved and reinfused into the patient to reverse such marrow ablation, has stimulated interest in this approach to refractory childhood cancers. We present results of treating eighteen patients with recurrent neuroblastoma and Ewing's sarcoma resistant to conventional therapy. We used supralethal doses of melphalan, supported by reinfusion of previously cryopreserved autologous bone marrow. Seven of 10 neuroblastoma and six of eight Ewing's sarcoma patients had complete or partial responses, lasting for a median of 6 months (neuroblastoma) and 3 months (Ewing's sarcoma). Prolonged hospitalization, pancytopenia complicated by sepsis, and reversible gastrointestinal toxicity were the major side effects. These results suggest this approach should be tested in therapeutic trials at an earlier disease stage in children who have cancers with a predictably bad prognosis.     

Bone marrow features in children with HIV infection and peripheral blood cytopenias

HIV infection is associated with numerous abnormalities affecting both the myeloid and lymphoid lineages. We studied the features associated with peripheral cytopenias as the first sign of HIV infection in children. Peripheral blood (PB) counts, PB and bone marrow (BM) lymphocyte subsets, as well as viral load and serum levels of ferritin, vitamin B12, and folic acid were determined. Five children were naive of treatment (Group 1) and three were under HAART (Group 2). In Group 1 all patients had anemia of chronic disease. One had a bone marrow culture positive for Mycobacterium avium intracellulare and pancytopenia. Besides this, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were seen in one patient each. In Group 2 anemia was found in all, neutropenia in one, and thrombocytopenia in two patients. Peripheral blood cytopenias were due to HAART toxicity in one patient. In the other two they were due to iron or folate deficiency. Bone marrow cytology showed cell abnormalities mainly in granulocytic precursors and megakaryocytes. All except two (taking HAART) patients had a high viral load. There was a straight correlation between viral load in PB and bone marrow. Viral load was correlated with peripheral CD4 but not with CD8 lymphocytes. A decrease in bone marrow B lymphocytes was seen in all patients. The introduction of HAART improved peripheral cytopenias. Bone marrow examination was useful for determining the etiology of the cytopenias and for detection of opportunistic infection. Hemopoietic cell abnormalities were similar to those seen in adults and indicative of HIV infection.     

儿童急性髓细胞白血病WT1基因表达及其临床意义

目的研究急性髓细胞白血病(AML)患儿WT1基因表达情况及其与临床预后的关系。方法采用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测45例非M3儿童AML的WT1表达水平,并回顾性分析其与AML预后的关系。结果骨髓幼稚细胞比例60%的AML患儿WT1表达水平高于幼稚细胞≤60%的患儿(P0.05)。M2病例组初诊时WT1表达量低于非M2病例组(P0.05)。完全缓解组患儿的WT1表达量显著低于初诊组和复发组(P0.01)。诱导化疗结束时WT1高表达组的2年无病生存率(DFS)低于WT1低表达组(P0.05)。诱导化疗结束时WT1下降程度≥1个数量级病例组的2年总生存率(OS)和DFS高于WT1下降程度1个数量级病例组(P0.05)。AML患儿骨髓复发2~3个月前WT1表达呈上升趋势。结论 WT1表达水平与儿童AML预后密切相关,动态监测WT1表达在指导儿童AML个体化治疗、预后评估和复发预测方面具有重要临床应用价值。     

Hematologic and Bone Marrow Abnormalities in Pediatric Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection

This study presents the peripheral blood and bone marrow findings in eight children with perinatally acquired HIV infection, ranging in age from 5 months to 3 years. The indications for bone marrow examination were comparable to those for adults with HIV infection and included cytopenia(s), slenome-galy, failure to thrive, and suspected tuberculosis. Thrombocytopenia was the most common indication, and platelet-associated antibodies were elevated in all patients with thrombocytopenia. The peripheral blood morphology was remarkable for the presence of plasmacytosis and eosinophilia in those patients with lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia. Five patients had trephine biopsies, and marrow cellularity was normal with normal or increased megakaryocytes in all cases. Lymphoid aggregates, also described in adult patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), were present in three of five trephine biopsies. In contrast to the adult patients, myelodysplasia was not observed in the pediatric age group. None of the eight children had malignancies or opportunistic infections that were diagnosed by bone marrow examination.     

Hematologic and bone marrow abnormalities in pediatric patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection

This study presents the peripheral blood and bone marrow findings in eight children with perinatally acquired HIV infection, ranging in age from 5 months to 3 years. The indications for bone marrow examination were comparable to those for adults with HIV infection and included cytopenia(s), slenomegaly, failure to thrive, and suspected tuberculosis. Thrombocytopenia was the most common indication, and platelet-associated antibodies were elevated in all patients with thrombocytopenia. The peripheral blood morphology was remarkable for the presence of plasmacytosis and eosinophilia in those patients with lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia. Five patients had trephine biopsies, and marrow cellularity was normal with normal or increased megakaryocytes in all cases. Lymphoid aggregates, also described in adult patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), were present in three of five trephine biopsies. In contrast to the adult patients, myelodysplasia was not observed in the pediatric age group. None of the eight children had malignancies or opportunistic infections that were diagnosed by bone marrow examination.