Neutropenia in infants with hemolytic disease of the newborn

Discerning clinicopathological features of congenital neutropenia syndromes: an approach to diagnostically challenging differential diagnoses

The congenital neutropenia syndromes are rare haematological conditions defined by impaired myeloid precursor differentiation or function. Patients are prone to severe infections with high mortality rates in early life. While some patients benefit from granulocyte colony-stimulating factor treatment, they may still face an increased risk of bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute leukaemia. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for improved outcomes; however, diagnosis depends on familiarity with a heterogeneous group of rare disorders that remain incompletely characterised. The clinical and pathological overlap between reactive conditions, primary and congenital neutropenias, bone marrow failure, and myelodysplastic syndromes further clouds diagnostic clarity.We review the diagnostically useful clinicopathological and morphological features of reactive causes of neutropenia and the most common primary neutropenia disorders: constitutional/benign ethnic neutropenia, chronic idiopathic neutropenia, cyclic neutropenia, severe congenital neutropenia (due to mutations in ELANE, GFI1, HAX1, G6PC3, VPS45, JAGN1, CSF3R, SRP54, CLPB and WAS), GATA2 deficiency, Warts, hypogammaglobulinaemia, infections and myelokathexis syndrome, Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome, the lysosomal storage disorders with neutropenia: Chediak-Higashi, Hermansky-Pudlak, and Griscelli syndromes, Cohen, and Barth syndromes. We also detail characteristic cytogenetic and molecular factors at diagnosis and in progression to myelodysplastic syndrome/leukaemia.

The European Guidelines on Diagnosis and Management of Neutropenia in Adults and Children: A Consensus Between the European Hematology Association and the EuNet-INNOCHRON COST Action

Neutropenia, as an isolated blood cell deficiency, is a feature of a wide spectrum of acquired or congenital, benign or premalignant disorders with a predisposition to develop myelodysplastic neoplasms/acute myeloid leukemia that may arise at any age. In recent years, advances in diagnostic methodologies, particularly in the field of genomics, have revealed novel genes and mechanisms responsible for etiology and disease evolution and opened new perspectives for tailored treatment. Despite the research and diagnostic advances in the field, real world evidence, arising from international neutropenia patient registries and scientific networks, has shown that the diagnosis and management of neutropenic patients is mostly based on the physicians' experience and local practices. Therefore, experts participating in the European Network for the Innovative Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Neutropenias have collaborated under the auspices of the European Hematology Association to produce recommendations for the diagnosis and management of patients across the whole spectrum of chronic neutropenias. In the present article, we describe evidence- and consensus-based guidelines for the definition and classification, diagnosis, and follow-up of patients with chronic neutropenias including special entities such as pregnancy and the neonatal period. We particularly emphasize the importance of combining the clinical findings with classical and novel laboratory testing, and advanced germline and/or somatic mutational analyses, for the characterization, risk stratification, and monitoring of the entire spectrum of neutropenia patients. We believe that the wide clinical use of these practical recommendations will be particularly beneficial for patients, families, and treating physicians.

Diagnosis and management of primary autoimmune neutropenia in children: insights for clinicians

Autoimmune neutropenia of infancy (AIN), also called primary autoimmune neutropenia, is a disease in which antibodies recognize membrane antigens of neutrophils, mostly located on immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc receptor type 3b (FcγIIIb receptor), causing their peripheral destruction. It is the most frequent type of neutropenia in children under 3-4 years of age and in most cases shows a benign, self-limited course. The diagnosis is based on evidence of indirect antineutrophil antibodies, whose detection frequently remains difficult. In this review we have analyzed the literature regarding AIN and present our personal experience in diagnosis and management.

Neonatal morbidity after exchange transfusion for red cell alloimmune hemolytic disease

BACKGROUND

Exchange transfusion (ET) is a high-risk procedure. The type and rate of complications in neonatal red cell alloimmune hemolytic disease exclusively are not clear.

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to study the type and rate of complications associated with ET in a large series of neonates with hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) due to red cell alloimmunization.

METHODS

All neonates with HDFN due to red cell alloimmunization admitted to our center between January 2001 and June 2011 were eligible for this study. We recorded the number and rate of complications during admission in the group of neonates treated with ET (ET group) and not treated with ET (no-ET group). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to measure the independent risk of complications of ET treatment.

RESULTS

A total of 347 infants with red cell alloimmune hemolytic disease were included; 39% (134/347) were treated with at least one ET (ET group), and 61% (213/347) did not require ET (no-ET group). Comparison between the ET group and no-ET group showed that ET treatment was independently associated with proven sepsis [8 vs. 1%, respectively; odds ratio (OR) 8.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-40.3; p = 0.009], leukocytopenia (88 vs. 23%, respectively; OR 36.0, 95% CI 17.5-73.8; p < 0.001), severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count <50 × 10(9)/l; 63 vs. 8%, respectively; OR 31.4, 95% CI 14.0-70.4; p < 0.001), hypocalcemia (22 vs. 1%, respectively; OR 27.4, 95% CI 5.9-126.8; p < 0.001) and hypernatremia (8 vs. 0%, respectively; p < 0.001). There were no neonatal deaths in the ET group.

CONCLUSION

ET in neonates with HDFN is associated with an increased risk of sepsis, leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, hypocalcemia and hypernatremia.