Narurkar Roshni, Mamorska-Dyga Aleksandra, Nelson John C, Liu Delong
Department of Medicine, New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY 10595 USA.
Biomark Res. 2017 Apr 8;5:14. doi: 10.1186/s40364-017-0095-6. eCollection 2017.
Babesiosis is endemic in selected areas in North America. Babesia infection is commonly associated with anemia, thrombocytopenia, hyponatremia and elevated liver enzymes. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is known to be caused by parasitic and viral infections but has not been well characterized.
We describe two cases diagnosed with babesiosis triggering severe AIHA. One case had history of splenectomy, and the other was an elderly patient. Older, immunocompromised and asplenic patients may be particularly at risk for post-babesiosis AIHA (PB-AIHA).
The pathogenesis for conventional AIHA and PB-AIHA appears to be different, since splenectomy is a treatment for conventional AIHA, whereas PB-AIHA is seen more often in asplenic patients. Further investigation into this intriguing mechanism of host immune response to babesiosis may help to elucidate the overall mechanism of infection- triggered AIHA.
巴贝斯虫病在北美部分地区呈地方性流行。巴贝斯虫感染通常与贫血、血小板减少、低钠血症及肝酶升高有关。自身免疫性溶血性贫血(AIHA)已知可由寄生虫和病毒感染引起,但尚未得到充分表征。
我们描述了两例诊断为巴贝斯虫病引发严重AIHA的病例。一例有脾切除史,另一例为老年患者。年龄较大、免疫功能低下及无脾患者可能特别容易发生巴贝斯虫病后AIHA(PB-AIHA)。
传统AIHA和PB-AIHA的发病机制似乎不同,因为脾切除术是传统AIHA的一种治疗方法,而PB-AIHA在无脾患者中更常见。对宿主针对巴贝斯虫病的免疫反应这一有趣机制的进一步研究可能有助于阐明感染引发AIHA的总体机制。