scholarly journals A case of Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis induced by COVID-19, and review of all cases reported in the literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 1607-1614
Author(s):  
Bırcan Unal Kayaaslan ◽  
Dilek Asilturk ◽  
Fatma Eser ◽  
Meryem Korkmaz ◽  
Orhan Kucuksahin ◽  
...  

Novel coronavirus infections 2019 (COVID-19) associated hyperinflammatory syndromes are well-defined clinical conditions and have a potential risk for severe infection. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare type of acute progressive hyperinflammatory syndrome, has been reported in a limited number of COVID-19 cases. In this article, we aimed to present a patient with HLH secondary to COVID-19 diagnosed by bone marrow biopsy, and to summarize and review HLH cases associated with COVID-19 in the literature. A 47-year-old male patient presented with complaints of fever, cough, abdominal discomfort, and nausea-vomiting. He had recovered from COVID-19 a month ago and was readmitted to the hospital due to the re-appearance of clinical symptoms after a two-week interval. The patient was diagnosed with HLH secondary to COVID-19 on sixth day of admission and fully recovered with systemic pulse steroid, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange therapy. Analysis of literature searches revealed that 22 cases were definitely diagnosed with COVID-19-associated HLH, 16 of them were male. They had been treated with different anti-cytokine drugs, of which nine had died. The increasing number of HLH cases, which have high mortality rates, shows the importance of hyperinflammatory syndromes in COVID-19 patients. Some patients may experience hemophagocytosis in the late period of COVID-19, even while in recovery. Increased awareness and early treatment for HLH triggered by COVID-19 can be a life-saving effort for reducing mortality in severe COVID-19 cases.


Hematology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gritta Janka ◽  
Udo zur Stadt

AbstractHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening condition characterized by uncontrolled hyperinflammation on the basis of various inherited or acquired immune deficiencies. Cardinal symptoms are prolonged fever, hepatosplenomegaly and cytopenias. Central nervous system (CNS) symptoms are common. Biochemical markers include elevated triglyceride and ferritin, high levels of the α chain of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor and low fibrinogen. Impaired function of natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T-cells (CTL) is a characteristic of all forms of HLH.Genetic HLH occurs in familial forms (FHLH), in which HLH is the primary and only manifestation, and in association with the immune deficiencies Chédiak-Higashi syndrome (CHS), Griscelli syndrome (GS) and X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP), in which secondary HLH occurs sporadically. Most patients with acquired HLH have no known underlying immune deficiency. Both acquired and genetic forms are triggered by infections, mostly viruses, or other stimuli. HLH also occurs as a complication of rheumatic diseases (macrophage activation syndrome) and of malignancies. The recent discovery of several genetic defects causing FHLH as well as the identification of the genes responsible for CHS, GS and XLP have underscored the role of granule (perforin/granzymes)-mediated cytotoxicity in both the killing of infected cells and the termination of the immune response. The immediate aim of therapy is suppression of the increased inflammatory response by immunosuppressive/immunomodulatory agents and cytotoxic drugs. Genetic cases can only be cured with stem cell transplantation. Awareness of the clinical symptoms and of diagnostic criteria for HLH is crucial to starting life-saving therapy in time.



2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rina Das ◽  
Dinesh Kumar Mehta ◽  
Meenakshi Dhanawat

Abstract:: A novel virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), appeared and expanded globally by the end of year in 2019 from Wuhan, China, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome. During its initial stage, the disease was called the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 February 2020. The WHO declared worldwide the SARS-CoV-2 virus a pandemic on March 2020. On 30 January 2020 the first case of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in India. Now in current situation the virus is floating in almost every part of the province and rest of the globe. -: On the basis of novel published evidences, we efficiently summarized the reported work with reference to COVID-19 epidemiology, pathogen, clinical symptoms, treatment and prevention. Using several worldwide electronic scientific databases such as Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Science direct, Scopus, etc were utilized for extensive investigation of relevant literature. -: This review is written in the hope of encouraging the people successfully with the key learning points from the underway efforts to perceive and manage SARS-CoV-2, suggesting sailent points for expanding future research.



2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. e137-e140
Author(s):  
Mosaad Abdel-Aziz ◽  
Nada M. Abdel-Aziz ◽  
Dina M. Abdel-Aziz ◽  
Noha Azab

AbstractThe clinical manifestations of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vary from mild flu-like symptoms to severe fatal pneumonia. However, children with COVID-19 may be asymptomatic or may have mild clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical features of pediatric COVID-19 and to search for the factors that may mitigate the disease course. We reviewed the literature to realize the clinical features, laboratory, and radiographic data that may be diagnostic for COVID-19 among children. Also, we studied the factors that may affect the clinical course of the disease. Fever, dry cough, and fatigue are the main symptoms of pediatric COVID-19, sometimes flu-like symptoms and/or gastrointestinal symptoms may be present. Although some infected children may be asymptomatic, a recent unusual hyperinflammatory reaction with overlapping features of Kawasaki's disease and toxic shock syndrome in pediatric COVID-19 has been occasionally reported. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronvirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid testing is the corner-stone method for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Lymphocyte count and other inflammatory markers are not essentially diagnostic; however, chest computed tomography is highly specific. Factors that may mitigate the severity of pediatric COVID-19 are home confinement with limited children activity, trained immunity caused by compulsory vaccination, the response of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors in children is not the same as in adults, and that children are less likely to have comorbidities. As infected children may be asymptomatic or may have only mild respiratory and/or gastrointestinal symptoms that might be missed, all children for families who have a member diagnosed with COVID-19 should be investigated.



2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Alabbas ◽  
Ghaleb Elyamany ◽  
Talal Alanzi ◽  
Tahani Bin Ali ◽  
Fatma Albatniji ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare and potentially fatal syndrome that is characterized by strong activation of the immune system from hyperinflammatory cytokines. Symptoms of HLH patients include fever, hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenia, and hyperferritinemia. Inherited HLH is classified as primary, whereas secondary HLH (sHLH) occurs when acquired from non-inherited reasons that include severe infection, immune deficiency syndrome, autoimmune disorder, neoplasm, and metabolic disorder. Wolman’s disease (WD) is a rare and fatal infantile metabolic disorder caused by lysosomal acid lipase deficiency, that exhibits similar clinical signs and symptoms as HLH. This paper reports the case of an infant diagnosed with WD and who presented with sHLH. Case presentation A 4-month-old infant presenting with hepatosplenomegaly, failure to thrive, and other abnormalities. WD diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of the LIPA gene homozygous deletion c.(428 + 1_967-1)_(*1_?)del. The infant also met the HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria. Conclusions Metabolic disorder such as WD should be investigated in infants fulfilling the HLH criteria to diagnose the underlying condition. More studies are needed to understand the link between WD and sHLH and to identify appropriate therapies.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Cozzolino ◽  
Ferruccio Conte ◽  
Fulvia Zappulo ◽  
Paola Ciceri ◽  
Andrea Galassi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The novel coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2 has been declared a pandemic on March 2020, by the World Health Organization. Older individuals and patients with comorbid conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and immunologic diseases are at higher risk of contracting this severe infection. In particular, patients with advanced CKD constitute a vulnerable population and a challenge in the prevention and control of the disease. Home-based renal replacement therapies offer opportunity to manage patients remotely, thus reducing the likelihood of infection due to direct human interaction. Patients are seen less frequently, limiting the close interaction between patients and healthcare workers who may contract and spread the disease. On the other hand, while home dialysis is reasonable selection at his time due to the advantage of isolation of patients, measures must be assured to implement the program. Despite its logistical benefits, outpatient hemodialysis also presents certain challenges during times of crises such as COVID 19 pandemic and potentially future ones.



CNS Spectrums ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-144
Author(s):  
Asad Shaikh ◽  
Joel Idowu

AbstractObjectiveTo discuss the psychiatric symptoms that are associated with CADASIL syndrome Abstract Cerebral:Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a rare type of hereditary disease involving the small cerebral vessels. The clinical symptoms are various and include recurrent ischemic strokes, migraine with aura, seizures with epilepsy, psychiatric problems such as mood disturbances, and progressive cognitive decline leading to dementia. This disease needs awareness amongst the psychiatrists even though it is discussed much more in neurology literature. Psychiatric symptoms are seen in 20–41% of patients with CADASIL syndrome (1, 2). Psychiatric symptoms are actually the initial presentation in 15% of the cases. (3) The psychiatric disturbance most reported are mood disturbances (9–41%) especially depression. Here a 42-year-old African American female was brought to the hospital emergency room after she was found wandering in the streets. Psychiatry was consulted for altered mental status. Upon evaluation by the psychiatric consult service she was only oriented to person, depressed, anxious and complaining of headaches. Initial CT scan showed marked small vessel disease and old lacunar infarcts in the basal ganglia and right corona radiata. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain showed acute infarcts in the right posterior frontal and right parietal lobes along with old infarcts. Her symptoms and findings on imaging were consistent with CADASIL syndrome. Once the diagnosis was confirmed and prior records were obtained patient was resumed on an antidepressant and anxiolytic.ConclusionThe purpose of this case report was to discuss psychiatric symptoms associated with CADASIL syndrome. Although there has been research showing a relationship between vascular disease and depression, a review of the literature suggests that there needs to be more research done to explore other psychiatric disturbances that may be seen with this syndrome. Psychiatric symptoms that are untreated can have the potential to further impact the quality of life therefore psychiatrists need to be aware of this syndrome in order to treat these patients promptly.References1 https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-017-0778-8 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.32474/OJNBD.2018.01.000101 3 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/47f6/5952ee3c5dcf2a61345f704914b17fa8dc0d.pdf



2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-443
Author(s):  
Yudianto Budi Saroyo ◽  
Amanda Rumondang ◽  
Irene Sinta Febriana ◽  
Achmad Kemal Harzif ◽  
Rima Irwinda

Introduction: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection that causes novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major health problem worldwide and been declared a pandemic since March 2020 by WHO. One special population that poses a challenge is pregnant women with COVID-19. There have not been many studies related to COVID-19 in pregnancy. In this study, we present five serial cases of Remdesivir treatment for COVID-19 in pregnant women with moderate to severe symptoms. Case Illustration: We briefly describe five serial cases being treated with Remdesivir therapy during hospitalization. Four cases were delivered by cesarean section, and one was delivered vaginally in gestation week 37. All cases showed a shortened duration of hospitalization, rapid improvement in clinical symptoms, and no adverse events were observed in mothers, fetuses, and neonates. Discussion: Remdesivir, an inhibitor RNA Polymerase, has been used in COVID-19 treatment and is known to shorten recovery time in nonpregnant women. Some studies have shown no adverse effects on Remdesivir for pregnant women. Based on randomized control trial (RCT) during the Ebola epidemic, Remdesivir was safe to use for pregnant women. All cases showed reduced hospitalization time and better clinical outcomes without maternal, fetal, or neonatal adverse events. Conclusion: Remdesivir protocol for pregnant women with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19 has resulted in better clinical improvement with a shorter recovery period and no adverse effects during the hospitalization period. Further studies and RCT are warranted to evaluate the biosafety and effects of Remdesivir in pregnant women.



2021 ◽  
pp. 61-63
Author(s):  
Shelesh Kumar Swami ◽  
Nitesh Kumar Chauhan ◽  
Shuchi Goyal ◽  
A.K. Verma ◽  
Shweta Biyani

Background:Current pandemic caused by Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) causes clinical symptoms from fever to acute respiratory distress syndrome but may remain mild or asymptomatic. To evaluate the cumulative prevalence of SARSCoV-2 infection in a community and know how immune response develops in the population, reliable assay alongwith RT-PCR for detection of SARS-CoV 2 antibodies is needed. Healthcare workers (HCWs) represent a high-risk populat - ion for infection with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We evaluated total antibodies recognizing the SARS CoV 2 receptor binding domain (S1-RBD) - - - or the Spike protein over a period of six months in a total of 310 healthcare workers engaged in hospital using SARS-CoV-2 Total antibody assay kit. Findings: The overall seroprevalence found in our analysis was 41.93%. In case of males the percentage positive was found to be signicantly higher at 43.91%, compared to females at 36.25%. Seroprevalence was signicantly higher in 50 years above age group in comparison to 20-50 years old aged healthcare workers. The seroprevalence was higher in doctors, nursing staff and lab technicians than other healthcare professionals as 44.6%. Conclusions: This study showed high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers which means remaining proportion of the healthcare workers are still susceptible to the infection. Good compliance to infection eradication and control measures, adequate PPEs, and early detection and isolation of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 are mandatory to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.



2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-122
Author(s):  
Liz Andrea Villela Baroncini ◽  
Graciliano Jose Franca ◽  
Aguinaldo de Oliveira ◽  
Enrique AntonioVidal ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Del Valle ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Symptoms and clinical signs suggestive of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are common but may have numerous possible causes. OBJECTIVES: 1) To identify the most frequent clinical symptoms and correlate them with duplex ultrasound scan (DS) findings; 2) to identify high-risk clinical conditions for DVT; and 3) to evaluate time since the onset of symptoms and DS examination. METHODS: A total of 528 patients with a clinical suspicion of DVT were evaluated by DS performed by experienced vascular ultrasonographists. RESULTS: DVT was present in 192 (36.4%) of the patients. The external iliac vein was involved in 53 patients (10.04%), the femoral veins in 110 (20.83%), the popliteal vein in 124 (23.48%), and veins below the knee were involved in 157 (29.73%) of the cases. Limb swelling was present in 359 cases (68%), and 303 (57.4%) complained of pain. Sixty nine patients received a DS due to suspected or proven pulmonary embolism (PE); 79 patients were in postoperative period. In the multivariate analysis, independent risk factors for DVT included age>65 years (OR=1.49; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.01-2.18; p=0.042), edema (OR=2.83; 95%CI 1.72-4.65; p<0.001), pain (OR=1.99; 95%CI 1.3-3.05; p=0.002), cancer (OR=2.32; 95%CI 1.45-3.72; p<0.001), and PE (OR=2.62; 95%CI 1.29-5.32; p=0.008).Time since the onset of symptoms did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, 36.4% of the patients referred to DS had DVT. Age > 65 years, presence of limb swelling, pain, cancer, and suspected or proven PE should be considered as major risk factors for DVT.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yani Kuang ◽  
Susu He ◽  
Shuangxiang Lin ◽  
Rui Zhu ◽  
Rongzhen Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In December 2019, the first case of pneumonia associated with the SARS-CoV-2 was found in Wuhan and rapidly spread throughout China, so data are needed on the affected patients. The purpose of our study was to find the clinical manifestations and CT features of COVID-19.Methods: All patients with COVID-19 in Taizhou city were retrospectively included and divided into non-severe group and severe group according to the severity of the disease. The clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations and imaging features of COVID-19 patients were analyzed, and the differences between the two groups were compared.Results: A total of 143 laboratory-confirmed cases were included in the study, including 110 non-severe patients and 33 severe patients. The median age of patients was 47 (range 4–86 years). Fever (73.4%) and cough (63.6%) were the most common initial clinical symptoms. Between two groups of cases, the results of aspartate transaminase, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, serum albumin, CR, glomerular filtration rate, amyloid protein A, fibrinogen, calcitonin level and oxygen partial pressure, IL – 10, absolute value of CD3, CD4, CD8 were different, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Therefore, these quantitative indicators can be used to help assess the severity. On admission, the CT showed that the lesions were mostly distributed in the periphery of the lung or subpleural (135 cases (98%)), and most of lesions presented as patchy (81%), mixed density (63%) shadow. Consolidation (68% vs 41%), bronchial inflation signs (59% vs 41%), and bronchiectasis (71% vs 39%) were more common in the severe group.Conclusions: Most of the cases of COVID-19 in Taizhou have mild symptoms and no death. In addition to clinical symptoms, some laboratory tests (such as absolute values of CD4 and CD8) and CT findings can be used to assess the severity of the disease.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document