Secondary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: Experience from the Uppsala University Hospital

Background. Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenia, and progressive multiple-organ failure. HLH in adults is often secondary to autoimmune diseases, cancer, or infections in contrast to familial HLH. Treatment of secondary HLH is directed against the triggering disease in addition to immunosuppressive therapy, the latter commonly according to the HLH-2004 protocol.Methods. We conducted a retrospective study to identify triggering diseases, disease-specific and immunosuppressive therapy administered, and prognosis in adult patients with secondary HLH. Patient data were collected from October 2010 to January 2015.Results. Ten adult patients with secondary HLH were identified. Seven were men, and the median age at diagnosis was 62 years. Five cases were triggered by malignant disease and five by infection. The median patient fulfilled five of the eight HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria. All patients fulfilled the criteria fever, cytopenia, and ferritin >500 µg/L. Median time from hospital admission to HLH diagnosis was 20 days. Four patients received immunosuppressive therapy according to the HLH-2004 protocol. The prognosis was dismal, especially for the patients with malignancy-associated HLH, of whom all died.Conclusion. HLH should be suspected in patients who present with fever, cytopenia, and ferritin >500 µg/L. Secondary HLH has a dismal prognosis. None of the patients with HLH triggered by malignancy survived. Achieving remission of the triggering disease seems to be important for a favourable outcome as, in all surviving patients, the haemophagocytic syndrome resolved after remission of the underlying infection.     

Intracerebral vascular occlusion in familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: a case report of two siblings

Neuropathological findings in two siblings with familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FEL) are reported. Case 1 showed the typical neuropathological findings of FEL with lymphohistiocytic infiltration of the leptomeninges and perivascular spaces. A characteristic erythrophagocytosis was detected in inguinal lymph nodes, lung and bone marrow. Case 2 revealed calcification and necrotic lesions in the brain. In the necrotic areas, parenchymal calcification, vascular medial calcification, and occlusion of many vessels due to subendothelial fibrosis were detected. The areas of necrosis correlated with the distribution of occluded vessels. These changes were most prominent in putamen, internal capsule, thalamus and dentate nucleus. Hypercytokinemia is suspected to be the underlying mechanism for the clinical and laboratory findings in patients with FEL, although the relationship to the vascular pathology is unclear.     

Aggressive large granular lymphocyte lymphomas in five dogs: a clinical cytohistological and immunological study

Among 276 canine lymphomas referred to the Haematology–Cytology–Immunology laboratory of the Lyon Veterinary School between 1997 and 2003, there were five aggressive large granular lymphocyte (LGL) malignancies. The five dogs were clinically examined and followed up. Cytological and histological analyses of the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, intestine and bone marrow were performed. The immunophenotype and proliferation index were established. The most significant clinical finding was that of an aggressive clinical course, the presence of hepatomegaly and/or splenomegaly, an abdominal lymphadenopathy, anaemia in four cases and blood and bone-marrow involvement in two cases. The cytological presentation was a diffuse infiltration of atypical, large granular lymphoid cells. Two cases were of the null type (CD3–, CD79a–, CD4–, CD8–), and three were of the T-cell type (CD3+, CD79a–, CD4–, CD8+). The proliferation index was high in all cases, with a median of 54.4%. The histological presentation of the null-type cases was an infiltration of the livers portal triads and the spleens red pulp. The T CD8+ cases showed two different patterns, characterised by infiltration: in the first, of all the intestines layers, the livers portal triads, the spleens red pulp and the lymph nodes and, in the second, infiltration of the livers sinusoids, the spleens red pulp. Although these aggressive LGL lymphomas are still poorly known, they may be compared to three types of human lymphoma: aggressive NK cell lymphoma/leukemia, hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma and enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma.     

采用噬血细胞综合征-04方案治疗噬血细胞综合征5例

目的观察噬血细胞综合征(HLH)-04方案治疗儿童HLH 5例的早期疗效。方法回顾性分析确诊为HLH患儿5例的临床特点,总结其对以鬼臼乙叉甙(VP16)为基础的免疫化学方案治疗的反应及转归。结果HLH患儿5例中4例在早期治疗阶段完全缓解(CR),CR时间17~22 d(平均18.8 d);另1例规则采用VP16治疗84 d未CR,改用鬼臼甲叉甙(VM26)于d130 CR;病例均存活9~11个月,目前仍CR。1例治疗14 d时出现手足震颤,怀疑为环孢素(CSA)不良反应,改用骁悉替代后手足震颤消失。结论儿童HLH可通过采用HLH-04方案的免疫化学治疗,早期得以有效控制。     

挑战:巨噬细胞活化综合征和脓毒症相关噬血细胞淋巴组织细胞增生症

无论原发性还是继发性噬血细胞淋巴组织细胞增生症都可能是致死性的,早期发现和及时治疗是改变结局的关键.虽然在基因缺陷和免疫发病机制研究进展的基础上形成的免疫化疗和定向免疫治疗使部分患儿的生存率得到了改善,但在ICU降低噬血细胞淋巴组织细胞增生症的病死率依然面临挑战.持续发热、伴随凝血异常的特殊性肝功能不良、高甘油三脂血症、血细胞减少和异常升高的血清铁蛋白是重要的诊断线索.明确患者自然杀伤细胞在脓毒症和自身免疫性疾病不同阶段的情况将引导创新免疫介入治疗的实现.     

Intrathoracic infections in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients may cooperate with HL to trigger hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: A retrospective study

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)-related hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) has been reported in the literature; however, there is almost no literature on the factors related to HL triggering HLH.One hundred forty patients with HL were retrospectively analyzed. The incidence of HL-related HLH (we call HL-related HLH as HL-HLH). And all HL-HLH patients in our cohort had HLH as the first manifestation and its clinical characteristics and the role of intrathoracic infection (ITI) in triggering HLH are discussed.The 140 patients with HL mainly included mixed-cellularity classic HL (MCCHL) in 81 (57.9%), nodular sclerosis classic HL (NSCHL) in 36 (25.7%), and lymphacyte-rich classic HL in 14 (10.0%) patients. Of the 137 patients who underwent chest computed tomography scans on admission, 44 had ITI, and most of these ITI were mildly ill and had no respiratory symptoms. Among 140 HL patients, 8 patients from MCCHL were diagnosed as HL-HLH. Among 81 MCCHL patients, 26 patients with ITI had a significantly higher incidence of HL-HLH than those without ITI (26.9% vs 1.8%, P = .002). The median survival time of 8 cases of HL-HLH was only 2 months.When HL patients were first admitted to the hospital, 5.7% had HLH as the first manifestation, and 32.1% had ITI. These ITI can cooperate with HL to trigger HLH, despite their mild illness. The prognosis of HL-HLH was poor.     

噬血细胞综合征的18F-FDG PET/CT影像学特点

目的探讨噬血细胞综合征的18F-FDG PET/CT显像的影像学特点。方法回顾性分析我院7例HLH临床资料和18F-FDG PET/CT影像资料。结果 7例患者均因不明原因发热入院,7例患者均符合HLH诊断指南2004修订版的标准。肝脏增大4例,3例合并FDG摄取增高,脾脏增大6例,5例合并FDG摄取增高,2例出现全身多发淋巴结增大并FDG摄取增高,2例表现为脑皮质FDG摄取弥漫性减低,6例出现肺部改变(肺炎、肺不张、胸腔积液等)。结论认识该疾病的18F-FDG PET/CT影像表现,有助于提高该疾病的诊断率。     

Hyperferritinemia in neonatal and infantile human parechovirus-3 infection in comparison with other infectious diseases

Human parechovirus-3 (HPeV-3) has been associated with severe clinical manifestations in neonates and infants in the form of sepsis or hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)-like illness. To clarify the clinical features of HPeV-3 infection, we compared clinical signs and laboratory findings among enteroviruses (EVs), HPeV-3, and other infections. Participants were 26 febrile infants in whom EVs (n = 20) or HPeV-3 (n = 6) were isolated from throat swab or fecal specimens. Clinical and laboratory data were compared among EVs, HPeV-3, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection (n = 15), and bacterial meningitis (n = 8) groups. Apnea was frequently seen in the HPeV-3 group although there were no significant differences in other clinical symptoms. Leukocyte count was significantly lower in the HPeV-3 group than in the EV and RSV group. Platelet count was significantly lower in the HPeV-3 group than in the RSV group. Serum ferritin levels in the HPeV-3 group (mean, 2437 ng/ml) and EV group (mean, 552 ng/ml) were significantly higher than in the RSV group (mean 237 ng/ml; P = 0.008 and P = 0.002, respectively). The frequency of patients with clearly high ferritin levels ≥1000 ng/ml was comparatively higher in the HPeV-3 group (4/6) than the EV group (3/20) (P = 0.03). In the HPeV-3 group, ferritin levels were high on Days 4–5. Elevated ferritin levels, decreased leukocyte and platelet counts could offer diagnostic clues to HPeV-3 infection in infant. These laboratory findings might be associated with aberrant immune response to HPeV-3, which could contribute to the development of sepsis or HLH-like illness in neonates.     

Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and Epstein–Barr virus: a complex relationship with diverse origins,expression and outcomes

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus with rare but severe potential for lymphoproliferative complications. EBV is associated with a variety of presentations of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). HLH is a life-threatening hyperinflammatory syndrome that can occur in patients with genetic defects associated with dysregulation of the immune response (familial HLH) or arise in patients with underlying infection or malignancy (non-familial or secondary HLH). EBV can both serve as the incidental trigger of familial HLH or as the driving factor in patients with selective inherited vulnerability (e.g. X-linked lymphoproliferative disease). Alternatively, acute infection can idiosyncratically cause non-neoplastic HLH in patients without inherited predisposition (i.e. secondary HLH), while EBV-associated T/natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and lymphomas can cause neoplasia-associated HLH. The present review will discern between EBV-associated familial and non-familial HLH and highlight diagnostic and therapeutic considerations. Non-familial EBV-associated HLH is a major diagnostic dilemma, as it represents a diverse spectrum of disease ranging from highly curable (non-neoplastic EBV-HLH) to indolent but incurable (chronic active EBV) to acutely fatal (systemic EBV-positive T-cell lymphoma of childhood). Increased clinical awareness and understanding of this rare and potentially devastating subset of EBV-related complications is desperately needed to improve survival for patients with neoplasia-associated HLH.