Resolution of sinus bradycardia, high-grade heart block, and left ventricular systolic dysfunction with rituximab therapy in Henoch-Schonlein purpura

A case report of Henoch-Schönlein purpura in the elderly complicated by multisystem involvement

RATIONALE

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), a vasculitis caused predominantly by immunoglobulin A vasculitis deposition in the blood vessel wall. It frequently affects multiple organs, however, intussusception and cardiac involvement in the elderly is extremely rare. Currently, the diagnosis of patients with atypical HSP is very difficult. Drugs and treatments lack adequate evidence-based medical proof to improve patients' long-term outcomes. We report a case of an elderly patient with allergic purpura involving the intestines, kidneys and heart, and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of patients with atypical clinical symptoms.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 72-year-old woman whose initial symptoms were unusual, and the progression of the disease is irregular.

DIAGNOSES

The patient with HSP gradually developed intussusception, renal failure and cardiac involvement.

INTERVENTIONS AND OUTCOMES

The patient developed kidney injury and intussusception, we sequentially administered surgical intervention, glucocorticoids, hemofiltration and hemoperfusion, and her condition showed improvement. Unfortunately, by the time cardiac complications develop, the patient's condition deteriorated rapidly. At last, the patient died.

LESSONS

HSP with renal failure, intussusception, and cardiac complication is extremely rare. When patients with atypical HSP, we should always be alerted to changes in their condition. And take into account factors such as the severity of symptoms, patient preferences and complications in order to determine the most suitable therapies.

The efficacy of rituximab in the treatment of IgA vasculitis nephritis

The utility of Rituximab (RTX) for IgA vasculitis nephritis (IgAVN) is not well established. Up to now, we analysed the largest samples of IgAVN patients treated by RTX with a total of 41 retrieved subjects up to December 29, 2023 in the present systematic review. We assessed the clinical profiles, efficacy, and safety of RTX treatments. The present review showed that the renal function tended to be stabilized (P = 1.000) and urinalysis tended to normalize after RTX treatment with no serious adverse events reported. Moreover, 40% (16/40) of patients was freed use of glucocorticoid after RTX administration (P < 0.001). The remission rate was 92.7% (38/41) and complete remission rate was 46.3% (19/41) in IgAVN patients. Interestingly, 76.9% (10/13) of IgAVN child patients achieved complete remission when compared with 32.1% (9/28) of adult patients (P = 0.017). In summary, our results support the benefit of RTX therapy in IgAVN patients, especially children subjects.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of cardiac involvement in pediatric immunoglobulin A vasculitis: A 7-year retrospective study from a single tertiary medical center

Immunoglobulin A vasculitis(IgAV) is the most common form of systemic vasculitis affecting children. To date, cardiac involvement in pediatric IgAV has not been fully investigated and its prevalence may be underestimated. This study aims to reveal the clinical and laboratory characteristics of cardiac involvement in pediatric IgAV and further determine its risk factors. A total of 1451 children with IgAV were recruited between January 2016 and December 2022. According to the severity of cardiac involvement, the patients were divided into the myocarditis/suspected myocarditis group, cardiac abnormalities group, and non-cardiac involvement group. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics were retrospectively extracted from the individual data collected in the medical records. Among the 1451 pediatric IgAV patients, 179 (12.3%) were identified with cardiac involvement, including 154 (10.6%) with cardiac abnormalities and 25 (1.7%) with myocarditis/suspected myocarditis. Cardiac involvement in pediatric IgAV mainly manifested as elevated cardiac biomarker levels (n = 162), electrocardiogram abnormalities (n = 46), and echocardiogram/chest X-ray abnormalities (n = 15); however, cardiac-related symptoms were only observed in 15.1% of patients with cardiac involvement. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that interval from disease onset to diagnosis > 7 days (OR, 2.157; 95% CI, 1.523-3.057; p < 0.001), IgAV with multi-organ involvement (OR, 1.806; 95% CI, 1.242-2.627; p = 0.002), and elevated D-dimer levels (OR, 1.939; 95% CI, 1.259-2.985; p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for cardiac involvement in pediatric IgAV. The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the myocarditis/suspected myocarditis group compared with the other two groups (p < 0.05).     Conclusion: This study suggests that cardiac involvements in pediatric IgAV is non-negligible, and cardiac involvement is associated with interval from disease onset to diagnosis > 7 days, IgAV with multi-organ involvement, and elevated D-dimer levels. Severe cardiac involvement may affect the prognosis of pediatric IgAV. What is Known: • Immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV) is the most common form of systemic vasculitis affecting children and adolescents, which exhibits diverse clinical manifestations. Cases of severe IgAV complicated by cardiac involvement have been anecdotally reported. What is New: • The present study suggests that cardiac involvements in pediatric IgAV is non-negligible, and cardiac involvement is associated with interval from disease onset to diagnosis > 7 days, IgAV with multi-organ involvement, and elevated D-dimer levels. Severe cardiac involvement may affect the prognosis of pediatric IgAV.

A Rare and Severe Presentation of Henoch-Schönlein Purpura in an Adolescent With Crescentic Glomerulonephritis, Arrhythmia, Acute Gastrointestinal Bleed, and Neurological Complications

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a childhood vasculitis disorder that involves the skin, joints, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and kidneys. It is related to immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody deposition in small blood vessels. HSP is a self-limiting disorder, but its morbidity is primarily associated with renal involvement. GI pathologies like intussusception, gastritis, duodenitis, ileitis, or ulcer have been reported to be associated with this disease. However, cardiac and neurological complications are rarely reported.

We present the case of a 16-year-old, previously healthy male who was diagnosed with HSP after presenting with a non-blanching purpuric rash in the lower extremities. The patient also had joint and abdominal pain, and swelling in the extremities. There was renal dysfunction at presentation with blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of 67 mg/dL and serum creatinine of 1.9 mg/dL. The serum albumin was low at 2 g/dL, and the patient had nephrotic range proteinuria. Urine microscopy showed red blood cell casts. A renal biopsy was performed, which showed IgA deposition in glomeruli. He was started on intravenous (IV) pulse methylprednisolone and was later prescribed oral steroids. Four weeks after the treatment initiation, he presented with syncope and acute anemia (hemoglobin of 3.5 g/dL). The fecal occult blood was positive. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) was not suggestive of gastritis, duodenitis, or ulcer. The pill-cam capsule endoscopy revealed GI bleeding from the terminal ileum near Meckel’s diverticulum. He subsequently required blood transfusions, and the bleeding eventually improved with symptomatic management. Six weeks after treatment initiation, he presented with dizziness and palpitations. The EKG showed the presence of atrial fibrillation, and he had an episode of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia on telemetry. Arrhythmia was diagnosed secondary to HSP cardiac vasculitis, and we initiated treatment with metoprolol and amiodarone. Seven weeks after the initial treatment, he had neurological clinical findings of proximal muscle weakness, tremors, and upper and lower extremity clonus. A second renal biopsy was then performed due to the presence of persistently elevated serum creatinine, which showed 75% of glomeruli with cellular crescents. He was treated with IV cyclophosphamide. Subsequently, the renal function improved. There were no other GI, cardiac, or neurological complications after six months of follow-up.

The presentation of HSP can be more severe in adolescents, and they need to be closely monitored for GI, cardiac, renal, and neurological complications after the disease occurrence. Bleeding from Meckel’s diverticulum or an episode of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia with HSP has not been previously reported to our knowledge. Arrhythmia is an exceptionally unusual occurrence in HSP, and it is usually treated with anti-arrhythmic drugs and intensification of the immunosuppressive regimen.

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura /IgA Vasculitis Complicated by Coronary Artery Aneurysm: A Case Report and Literature Review

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP)/ IgA vasculitis (IgAV) is the most common form of systemic vasculitis in children and often involves the skin, gastrointestinal tract, joints, and kidneys, though cardiac involvement rarely occurs. We report on a 6-year-old male child with HSP/IgAV who had renal and cardiac involvement at the initial stage of the disease and in whom we found an extremely rare coronary artery aneurysm. After administration of glucocorticoid combined with mycophenolate mofetil, the renal involvement improved, but the coronary artery aneurysm remained. Pursuant to this case, we retrieved information on other cases of HSP/IgAV complicated with cardiac involvement from the PubMed database, and excluded cases of cardiac involvement accompanied by Kawasaki disease, polyarteritis nodosa, rheumatic fever, Takayasu arteritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, or sepsis. We then analyzed gender, age, cardiac involvement, renal involvement, treatment, and prognoses. To date, 24 cases of HSP/IgAV complicated with cardiac involvement have been reported. Among them, there were 22 male and 2 female patients, with the onset age ranging from 3 to 71 years old. A total of 10 children (including the child we examined) and 14 adults were identified, and 17 patients (70.8%) had HSP/IgAV complicated with renal involvement. The majority of patients were treated with glucocorticoid and/or immunosuppressants or biological agents, 4 patients died (16.7%), 8 patients were completely relieved (33.3%), and 3 patients had unknown prognoses. This article suggests that HSP/IgAV complicated with cardiac involvement may result in a poor prognosis and early treatment may therefore be essential. Our case revealed that glucocorticoid does not prevent the occurrence of renal and cardiac involvement in HSP/IgAV patients. If HSP/IgAV is complicated with coronary artery dilation, the therapeutic effect of glucocorticoid combined with immunosuppressants is not satisfactory, and early administration of biological agents or IVIG may be an effective therapeutic regimen.