Rare presentation of mixed autoimmune hemolytic anemia in children: Report of 2 cases

Rare case of refractory mixed autoimmune hemolytic anemia in a 6-year-old child: a case report

BACKGROUND

Mixed autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) shows combined clinical and laboratory characteristics of warm and cold AIHA. It is relatively uncommon in children. Consequently, knowledge about mixed AIHA prevalence, clinical presentation, treatment options, and prognosis in children is limited to very few case reports.

CASE PRESENTATION

We describe a six-year-old Asian girl presenting with profound anemia, blood group typing discrepancy and crossmatch incompatibility, post upper respiratory tract infection. Detection of red cell warm and cold reactive autoantibodies, led to the diagnosis of mixed AIHA. Autoantibodies with laboratory evidence of hemolysis persisted despite high dose steroid therapy. Due to the inability to wean further, the patient was subsequently commenced on mycophenolate mofetil to which she seems to be responding.

CONCLUSIONS

Mixed AIHA may be notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat. Detailed clinical and laboratory work-up is essential to establish the diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of mixed AIHA following upper respiratory tract infection. Awareness of this occurrence is important, as similar to warm AIHA, mixed AIHA should be treated immediately by early initiation of steroid therapy. In addition, prompt supportive care as well as long-term clinical follow-up are required to improve outcomes of these cases.

Rapidly Progressing Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia in a Pediatric Patient With COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel virus that is known to have a predilection for complications associated with the respiratory system. Although COVID-19 has a wide spectrum of manifestations, the pathophysiology of severe illness remains poorly understood but is thought to be associated with fulminant cytokine release. While severe complications secondary to COVID-19 in the pediatric population are considered rare, they do happen. Children with and without comorbidities have required intensive care unit admissions for respiratory distress and, more notably, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). While MIS-C is associated with hematologic complications, such as thrombocytopenia and coagulopathies, it is not associated with blood hemolysis. In this report, we describe a case of a 23-month-old previously healthy female, who presented with lethargy and positive COVID-19 PCR status. This case illustrates the rapid and fatal sequela caused by autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) from COVID-19. It stresses the importance of thorough workup and management of AIHA secondary to COVID-19 illness. Currently, there is limited understanding of AIHA from COVID-19 illness in children. Our aim is to describe this rare complication of COVID-19 illness in pediatric patients and discuss the best practices to manage it.

Management of Mixed Warm/Cold Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia: A Case Report and Review of Current Literature

Background

Mixed warm/cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a rare diagnostic entity with limited therapeutic options. Previous literature has described the diagnostic difficulty in this pathology and the limited response rates to corticosteroids. Furthermore, there is limited evidence regarding the use of rituximab in this condition.

Methods

Alongside our case report, we conducted a scoping review of case reports/case series describing mixed AIHA, their treatment, and clinical outcomes since 2000. Inclusion criteria included a confirmed diagnosis of mixed AIHA (confirmed warm antibodies and cold agglutinins based on DAT). Case Summary/Results. We present a case of mixed AIHA in an 83-year-old female presenting with extensive, bilateral pulmonary embolisms and left renal vein thrombosis. The patient underwent extensive workup with no identifiable provoking etiology. Initial treatment involved prednisone therapy was transitioned to rituximab upon diagnosis of mixed AIHA. The patient demonstrated a mixed response with stable hemoglobin and transfusion independence; however, with persistently elevated hemolytic indices following completion of rituximab treatment. Our literature review identified 16 articles; two were excluded for unavailable clinical details. The most commonly associated conditions included autoimmune conditions (n = 5, 26%) and lymphoproliferative disorders (n = 3, 12%). The most common treatment involved corticosteroids; seven studies involved the use of rituximab.

Conclusion

Mixed AIHA represents a complex diagnosis and optimal management is not well established. Consistent with our case, recent literature suggests a promising response to rituximab and a limited response to steroid treatment. Given the limited literature, additional studies are required to elucidate optimal management of this unique pathology.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in pregnancy: a challenge for maternal and fetal follow-up

Background: Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a rare entity during pregnancy. The fetal risk is determined primarily by the ability of autoantibodies to cross the placental barrier. Currently, the establishment of a standardized antenatal care in cases with AIHA remains as a pending issue.Cases: Firstly, we describe a case of a 17-week pregnant woman that was diagnosed with cold agglutinin mediated (C3 and IgM) AIHA. Treatment was started with prednisone, showing initial improvement, but requiring intravenous gammaglobulins at 27 weeks. During the fetal follow-up, all studies showed normal results. In the third trimester, when there was a clinic and analytic maternal improvement, an unexpected fetal death occurred. Secondly, we present a case of a 30-week pregnant woman, diagnosed with warm antibody (IgG) AIHA. Despite the ability of IgG to cross the placental barrier, the serial measurements of the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) peak systolic velocity were always normal and childbirth occurred at term without any adverse perinatal outcome.Conclusion: During pregnancy, identification of the type antibodies in AIHA is crucial to estimate the potential maternal and fetal risks and to establish the follow-up. The interaction of the complement cascade with the coagulation cascade could be an explanation for a perinatal adverse outcome despite the inability of the IgM to cross the placental barrier.

A Case of Pregnancy Complicated with Evans Syndrome with Sequential Development of Autoimmune Warm Antibody Hemolytic Anemia and Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

The simultaneous or sequential development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is known as Evans syndrome. We experienced a case of Evans syndrome that developed AIHA during pregnancy and ITP long after delivery. The patient was a 35-year-old pregnant woman (gravida 2, para 1). A routine blood test at 28 weeks of gestation revealed moderate macrocytic anemia. Her haptoglobin level was markedly low, and a direct antiglobulin test (DAT) was positive. Based on these results, AIHA was considered. A healthy female newborn with bodyweight 3575 g was vaginally delivered uneventfully. After delivery, the DAT remained positive, but anemia did not develop. At 203 days after delivery, ITP was detected. Because AIHA and ITP developed sequentially, she was diagnosed with Evans syndrome. When AIHA occurs during pregnancy, long-term follow-up is needed because ITP can develop sequentially.