Update on childhood vasculitides

Pediatric Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis Mimicking IgA Vasculitis: A Case Report

Background

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a systemic vasculitis of the upper and lower respiratory tract along with glomerulonephritis and is very rare in childhood. Its renal manifestations similarity with IgA vasculitis can be misleading.

Case presentation

Herein, we report a 12-years-old girl with the clinical picture of IgA vasculitis and renal involvement at the time of presentation, over time, elevated cytoplasmic Anti-neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (C-ANCA) and tissue biopsy confirmed GPA.

Conclusion

In the case of a patient with an unusual presentation of IgA vasculitis, to some degree of suspicion, the GPA should be considered. Also, in approach to non-thrombocytopenic palpable petechia and purpura a wide range of differential diagnosis such as infections, ANCA associated vasculitis, and secondary vasculitis should be considered. Therefore, 2 effective method of GPA diagnosis, the high titer of C-ANCA test and tissue biopsy, should be considered simultaneously.

Anaphylactoid Purpura Associated with Streptococcal Cellulitis: A Case Report and Literature Review

A 54-year-old Japanese man noticed painful swelling and redness of his left leg. He was admitted for treatment of cellulitis, which was accompanied with increased anti-streptolysin O and anti-streptokinase titers in his clinical course. After Piperacillin/Tazobactam administration, the skin lesion resolved. However, the patient then developed arthritis, palpable purpura, and intermittent abdominal pain, later found to be secondary to a severe duodenal ulcer. He was diagnosed with cellulitis-associated anaphylactoid purpura and was given prednisolone, which dramatically improved his symptoms. The anaphylactoid purpura was likely caused by Streptococcus-induced cellulitis, which was successfully treated with prednisolone. Association between these diseases is rare.

Diagnostic errors of right lower quadrant pain in children: beyond appendicitis

Right lower quadrant pain in children can result from various underlying conditions other than acute appendicitis. The common mimics of acute appendicitis are related to acute gastrointestinal and genitourinary diseases. Diagnosis of right lower quadrant pain in the pediatric population can be challenging, especially when the symptoms are often nonspecific. This article reviews the currently available imaging techniques for evaluating a child with right lower quadrant pain and the spectrum of differential diagnoses with a focus on imaging clues to a specific diagnosis.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis presenting as Henoch-Schönlein purpura in children

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly known as Wegener granulomatosis, in children is an uncommon chronic organ- and life-threatening systemic vasculitis that may share at time of initial presentation a number of clinical features in common with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), a very common and comparatively benign form of childhood vasculitis. Diagnosis of GPA requires a high index of suspicion, and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody tests along with tissue biopsy are helpful tools for diagnosis. We report 2 patients with GPA masqueraded as HSP at time of initial presentation. Both patients presented with nonthrombocytopenic purpura on lower extremities, in addition to abdominal pain, and/or microscopic hematuria and fulfilled both the American College of Rheumatology and the Pediatric Rheumatology European Society classification criteria for HSP. Both patients eventually developed significant renal and pulmonary disease and were diagnosed with GPA. We aim to raise awareness of such atypical presentations of GPA to avoid delayed management.

The Molecular Biology and Treatment of Systemic Vasculitis in Children

Primary systemic vasculitides are rare in childhood but are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The cause of the majority of vasculitides is unknown, although it is likely that a complex interaction between environmental factors, such as infections and inherited host responses, triggers the disease and determines the vasculitis phenotype. Several genetic polymorphisms in vasculitides have now been described, which may be relevant in terms of disease predisposition or development of disease complications. Treatment regimens continue to improve with the use of different immunosuppressive medications and newer therapeutic approaches such as biologic agents. This chapter reviews recent studies shedding light on the pathogenesis of vasculitis with emphasis on molecular biology where known, and summarizes current treatment strategies. We discuss new emerging challenges particularly with respect to the long-term cardiovascular morbidity for children with systemic vasculitis and emphasize the importance of future international multicenter collaborative studies to further increase and standardize the scientific base investigating and treating childhood vasculitis.

Temporal association of Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and parainfluenza pediatric hospitalizations and hospitalized cases of Henoch-Schönlein purpura

OBJECTIVE

To determine if hospitalizations for specific infectious exposures are associated with hospital admissions for Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative data of children admitted to 40 children's hospitals between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2008. We examined the association of standardized rates of group A ß-hemolytic Streptococcus (GABS), Staphylococcus aureus, parainfluenza, influenza, adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated hospital admissions with standardized rates of HSP hospital admissions on a month by month basis using autoregressive moving average process models to account for temporal autocorrelation and clustering by hospital.

RESULTS

Among the 3,132 admissions for HSP observed over the 7-year study period, hospital admissions were most frequent September through April, but with substantial variability between hospitals for each month. Accounting for these month by month differences within each hospital, the rate of HSP admissions in a given month increased significantly as the standardized rates of GABS (p = 0.01), S. aureus (p < 0.01), and parainfluenza (p = 0.03) admissions increased.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate a local month by month temporal association between hospitalization for GABS, S. aureus, and parainfluenza and hospitalization for HSP. Future investigations will be required to determine causality.

Penile involvement in Henoch-Schönlein purpura with good prognosis

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), the commonest vasculitis in children, occurs most frequently between the ages of 4 and 6 years. We report the case of a 3-year-old boy with an otomastoiditis who was treated with cephalosporin and corticosteroids following a typical purpuric skin rash diagnosed as HSP. The patient also developed an acute occurrence of impairment of the glans, prepuce and penis 4 days after recovery that completely disappeared after a further 2 days, with the cutaneous rash subsiding on discharge from hospital.

Aortocarotid bypass for hemispheric hypoperfusion in a child

Large-vessel vasculitis syndromes in the pediatric population are rare and highly morbid. The authors here report on the microsurgical revascularization of a unique case of presumed vasculitis with aortitis and severe obliterative arteriopathy in a 10-month-old child with symptomatic hemispheric hypoperfusion. Using a cryopreserved saphenous vein, this unilateral aortocarotid bypass restored normal intracranial perfusion bilaterally and led to a resolution of the patient's ischemic symptoms. The aortocarotid bypass is clinically effective and technically feasible in young children when a saphenous vein allograft is used. The bypass graft is amenable to angioplasty with or without stenting if delayed stenosis becomes an issue later in life.

Successful treatment of pediatric systemic polyarteritis nodosa with cholestatic hepatitis

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare vasculitis in children. We report a case of 5-year-old boy with systemic PAN and cholestatic hepatitis. He had fever, abdominal pain, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Angiography revealed multiple microaneurysms in the renal, hepatic, and superior mesenteric arteries. Clinical manifestations improved slowly after immunosuppressive therapy, but liver enzyme and bilirubin levels elevated gradually. Liver biopsy findings revealed marked centrizonal canalicular cholestasis, bile duct damage, and intact hepatocyte, but there was no evidence of viral hepatitis or vasculitis. Levels of liver enzymes and bilirubin improved after two cycles of cyclophosphamide therapy. We thought that the possible etiology of elevated liver enzyme and bilirubin levels might be a manifestation of PAN.