Henoch-Schönlein purpura with intussusception: a case report

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of IgA vasculitis with intussusception and intestinal perforation

AIM

Intussusception is the most common surgical complication of IgA vasculitis (IgAV), and intestinal perforation is usually associated with intussusception. If they are not recognised and treated in a timely manner, serious consequences may occur. The objective is to summarise the clinical features of IgAV complicated by intussusception and intestinal perforation and explore its risk factors.

METHODS

The clinical data of 32 patients with IgAV complicated by surgical complications (25 cases of intussusception and 7 cases of intestinal perforation) were retrospectively analysed. A total of 160 IgAV children with gastrointestinal (GI) involvement but without surgical complications were randomly selected as a control group. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the risk factors for IgAV with intussusception and intestinal perforation.

RESULTS

Compared with the intussusception group, the intestinal perforation group had a significantly higher number of patients with GI symptoms prior to skin purpura and GI bleeding, a significantly higher number of days of abdominal pain, a significantly higher Wong-Baker score, and a significantly higher white blood cell count. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that age ≤7 years, GI symptoms prior to skin purpura, abdominal pain intensity (Wong-Baker scale) and timing of glucocorticoid treatment were independent risk factors of IgAV with intussusception and intestinal perforation.

CONCLUSION

Age less than 7 years, severe abdominal pain, and GI symptoms prior to skin purpura were risk factors for IgAV with intussusception and intestinal perforation. Early use of glucocorticoids may prevent intussusception and intestinal perforation.

Risk factors for intussusception in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura: A case-control study

BACKGROUND

The etiology of Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) with intussusception remains undefined.

AIM

To investigate the risk factors for intussusception in children with HSP and gastrointestinal (GI) involvement.

METHODS

Sixty children with HSP and concomitant intussusception admitted to the Beijing Children’s Hospital of Capital Medical University between January 2006 and December 2018 were enrolled in this study. One hundred pediatric patients with HSP and GI involvement but without intussusception, admitted to the same hospital during the same period, were randomly selected as a control group. The baseline clinical characteristics of all patients, including sex, age of onset, duration of disease, clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, and treatments provided, were assessed. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify possible risk factors.

RESULTS

The 60 children in the intussusception group comprised 27 girls (45%) and 33 boys (55%) and the 100 children in the non-intussusception group comprised 62 girls (62%) and 38 boys (38%). The median age of all patients were 6 years and 5 mo. Univariate and multiple regression analyses revealed age at onset, not receiving glucocorticoid therapy within 72 h of emergence of GI symptoms, hematochezia, and D-dimer levels as independent risk factors for intussusception in children with HSP (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The four independent risk factors for intussusception in pediatric HSP with GI involvement would be a reference for early prevention and treatment of this potentially fatal disease.

Multisystemic manifestations of IgA vasculitis

Immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV), also known as Henoch-Schönlein Purpura, is one of the most common kind of systemic vasculitis in children, and due to the involvement of small blood vessels throughout the body, this disease can cause a variety of symptoms in different organs. Our aim was to review the data on various systemic manifestations of IgAV. A research of the literature was performed in PubMed database, utilizing the MeSH terms "IgA vasculitis" and "Henoch Schönlein Purpura". According to the predetermined structure of the manuscript, we extracted and sorted out the relevant data. Clinically, almost all the patients will present with palpable skin purpura, together with arthritis, gastrointestinal tract involvement, or kidney damage. Other rare systemic manifestations include neurological symptoms, scrotal involvement, and cardiopulmonary disease. When uncommon complications occur, patients may be misdiagnosed as other diseases, thus delaying treatment. Although the course of IgAV is mostly self-limited, misdiagnosis can also lead to a poor prognosis. A comprehensive awareness to the clinical manifestations of IgAV is the necessary prerequisite for its timely diagnosis. Prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment are essential for optimal results.

Colonoscopic diagnosis and reduction of recurrent intussusception owing to Henoch-Schönlein purpura without purpura

About 50-75% of patients with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) develop gastro-intestinal symptoms with surgical complications such as intussusception occurring in 0.7-13.6%. In 10-40% of patients, however, gastro-intestinal manifestations may precede the onset of purpura. In patients with gastro-intestinal tract involvement without purpura, confirming the diagnosis of HSP and determining the appropriate treatment remains difficult. A seven-year-old boy presented with recurrent intussusception owing to HSP without purpura. It was confirmed pathologically and treated via colonoscopy. Early colonoscopic intervention can contribute to the early diagnosis of HSP and its subsequent management by avoiding unnecessary surgical invasion.

Simultaneous occurrence of intussusception and duodenal haematoma in a patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia

Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder in which the platelets have anomalies of fibrinogen receptors causing bleeding tendencies. The disease usually presents with mucosal bleeding, petechial haemorrhages or gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Only sporadic cases of intussusception or duodenal haematoma have been reported with GT. We present a case of 5-year-old girl admitted with non-bilious vomiting, watery diarrhoea and abdominal pain. She is a known patient of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia.

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura in the ED

Diagnosing and treating a child with the most common form of pediatric vasculitis.

Jejunojejunum intussusception as the single initial manifestation of Henoch-Schönlein purpura in a teenager

We described a 14-year-old boy with initial presentation of recurrent intermittent abdominal pain, with subsequent development of jejunojejunum intussusception. The characteristic purpuric skin rash of Henoch-Schönlein purpura appeared later after the surgical manual reduction. When abdominal pain is the single initial manifestation in patients with undiagnosed Henoch-Schönlein purpura, emergency physicians should evaluate if the patient required early surgical intervention such as intussusception or perforation and always keep Henoch-Schönlein purpura as a possibility in mind.

Toxic epidermal necrolysis complicated by small bowel intussusception: a case report

Intestinal involvement in toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) has been identified only rarely. We report a case of TEN complicated by small bowel intussusception. The patient was a previously healthy 8-year-old boy who presented with TEN and extensive lesions, including up to 40% of the body surface area as well as conjunctival, oropharyngeal, respiratory, and genital mucosa. Rapidly after the onset of a constant rate of enteral feeding, he developed bilious vomiting, diarrhea, and significant abdominal distension. Abdominal sonography showed a small bowel intussusception. At abdominal exploration, an ileoileal intussusception was observed with a viable but inflamed bowel wall. Manual reduction was performed. During the postoperative clinical course, the patient was managed with total parenteral nutrition and local care of the skin and mucous membranes. Enteral feeding was introduced on the sixth postoperative day, and the child left the hospital 15 days after his admission. The association of TEN and small bowel intussusception has not been previously reported in the literature.

Treatment of cystic fibrosis associated cutaneous vasculitis with chloroquine

Vasculitis is a well recognised complication of Cystic Fibrosis. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment but some cases can be resistant and may require additional disease modifying agents. We describe a case of steroid resistant cutaneous vasculitis which was successfully treated with chloroquine in addition to corticosteroids and a subsequent relapse with chloroquine alone.