Use of recombinant thrombomodulin in disseminated intravascular coagulation complicated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is frequently lethal in its early phase due to complicating disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The authors report a 14-mo-old girl with severe DIC complicating Epstein-Barr virus associated HLH. She was successfully treated with immunochemotherapy consisting mainly of etoposide and additional recombinant thrombomodulin (r-TM), a newly developed anticoagulant. Although the efficacy of r-TM cannot be proven in a single case report, additional anticoagulation therapy with r-TM is safe and may reduce early deaths in patients with DIC-complicated severe HLH. More clinical experience is required, although r-TM is currently licensed only in Japan.