Management of autoimmune hemolytic anemia in children and adolescents: A single center experience.

OBJECTIVE

To present and discuss the treatment of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA).

METHODS

The medical records of all patients (n=19) diagnosed in a tertiary hematology center between 1999 and 2010 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Median age at diagnosis of AIHA was 5 years (range: 4 months-17 years). In all, 13 patients had primary (idiopathic) AIHA, whereas 2 had primary Evans Syndrome (ES), 2 had autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)+ES, and 1 had Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS)+AIHA. Among the 13 primary idiopathic AIHA patients, 9 recovered following a 4-8-week course of prednisolone treatment without relapses, whereas 3 patients required a longer course of prednisolone. One AIHA patient that was very resistant to prednisolone recovered after cyclosporine A was added to the treatment. All patients with primary idiopathic AIHA were in remission for a median of 3 years (range: 4 months-10 years) at the time this manuscript was written. Among the patients with primary ES, 2 had relapses similar to the ALPS patients. Splenectomy was performed in 1 primary ES patient, who at the time this report was written was also in remission. One ALPS patient required the addition of mycophenolate mofetil due to prednisolone resistance. The WAS patient was treatment resistant and died due to septicemia.

CONCLUSION

Primary AIHA in pediatric patients generally has an acute onset and good response to corticosteroids. Primary or secondary ES has a chronic or relapsing course, and treatment may require other immunosuppressive agents in addition to corticosteroids. Complications of splenectomy must not be underestimated in patients with underlying immunodeficiency. AIHA often causes considerable morbidity and mortality in WAS.