Pathogenesis and prognosis of neutropenia in infants and children admitted in a university children hospital in Egypt

Clinical Epidemiology Characteristics and Etiology of Febrile Neutropenia in Children: Analysis of 421 Cases

The congenital immune system includes neutrophils, which perform a variety of functions. Congenital and acquired neutropenia are rare illnesses with an underestimated prevalence in children. The aim of this study is to examine the epidemiology and etiology of febrile neutropenia in children at Haiphong Children’s Hospital, Haiphong, Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 421 febrile neutropenia children. Clinical and laboratory characteristics were examined. Results: The median age (IQR) was 25.0 (12.5–59.5) months. The male-to-female ratio was 1.35/1. There were twice as many children living in the suburbs (66.98%) as in urban areas (33.02%). The mean (SD) temperature at admission was 38.50 ± 0.59 °C. Diagnosed causes associated with neutropenia included acute respiratory infections 250 (59.45%), gastrointestinal infections 68 (16.1%), erythema 37 (8.79%), acute leukemia 15 (3.56%), urinary tract infection 5 (1.19%), and encephalitis/meningitis 4 (0.95%). Viral etiology accounted for 61.52% (259): influenza type A—50.19% (130), influenza type B—31.27% (81), dengue virus—14.67% (38), measles virus 1—93% (5), rotavirus—1.54% (4), and EBV—0.4% (1). Twenty-five patients (5.94%) were found to have bacteria in their cultures, with Streptococcus pneumonia being the most common (eight patients; 32%). Conclusions: Febrile neutropenia was common in children under 2 years old. Primary clinical manifestations were acute upper respiratory tract infections, and viruses most commonly caused febrile neutropenia. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine the cause of febrile neutropenia.

The Management of Young Children With a Likely Infectious Condition Presenting Moderate to Severe Neutropenia

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to describe the outcome of healthy children presenting with newly-diagnosed neutropenia in an infectious context.

RESULTS

A total of 184 episodes of neutropenia were included in children 3 months to 5 years of age. There were 118 (64%) episodes of moderate neutropenia and 66 (36%) of severe neutropenia (SN). SN episodes were more likely related to intensification of antibiotic regimen used and further investigations. The median duration of neutropenia was 8.5 days. Chronic benign neutropenia occurred in 7 (4%) patients.

CONCLUSION

SN led to intensification of antibiotic therapy, but no children encountered an unfavorable outcome and the neutropenia episodes were short-lived.

A systematic review of the epidemiology of hepatitis A in Africa

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis A, caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), is a vaccine preventable disease. In Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), poor hygiene and sanitation conditions are the main risk factors contributing to HAV infection. There have been, however, notable improvements in hygiene and sanitation conditions in many LMICs. As a result, there are studies showing a possible transition of some LMICs from high to intermediate HAV endemicity. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries should routinely collect, analyse and review local factors (including disease burden) to guide the development of hepatitis A vaccination programs. Up-to-date information on hepatitis A burden is, therefore, critical in aiding the development of country-specific recommendations on hepatitis A vaccination.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review to present an up-to-date, comprehensive synthesis of hepatitis A epidemiological data in Africa.

RESULTS

The main results of this review include: 1) the reported HAV seroprevalence data suggests that Africa, as a whole, should not be considered as a high HAV endemic region; 2) the IgM anti-HAV seroprevalence data showed similar risk of acute hepatitis A infection among all age-groups; 3) South Africa could be experiencing a possible transition from high to intermediate HAV endemicity. The results of this review should be interpreted with caution as the reported data represents research work with significant sociocultural, economic and environmental diversity from 13 out of 54 African countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that priority should be given to collecting HAV seroprevalence data and re-assessing the current hepatitis A control strategies in Africa to prevent future disease outbreaks.

Characterizing hepatitis C virus epidemiology in Egypt: systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-regressions

Egypt is the most affected nation by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and needs a comprehensive characterization of HCV epidemiology to inform the scale-up of treatment and prevention programs. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-regressions were conducted. A total of 25 incidence, 259 prevalence, and 47 genotype studies were identified. Incidence and prevalence levels were high across all populations. Genotype 4 accounted for 94.1% of infections with a relative Shannon Diversity Index of only 14.4%. Pooled mean HCV prevalence was estimated at 11.9% (95% CI = 11.1–12.6%) among the general population, 55.6% (95% CI = 49.4–61.7%) among populations at high risk, 14.3% (95% CI = 10.3–18.8%) among populations at intermediate risk, 56.0% (95% CI = 50.4–61.6%) among populations with liver-related conditions, and 35.0% (95% CI = 27.3–43.1%) among special clinical populations. Mean HCV viremic rate was estimated at 66.7% (95% CI = 61.7–71.5%). Meta-regression indicated 6% lower odds for HCV prevalence for each one-year increment in publication year (AOR = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.92–0.96). HCV prevalence is high with evidence for ongoing transmission mainly through healthcare. Genotype diversity is low with genotype 4 dominance. Two-thirds of antibody-positive Egyptians are chronically infected and need treatment. Clinical populations should be prioritized for screening. Despite the large-scale epidemic, prevalence appears to be declining rapidly consistent with a contracting epidemic.

[Fortuitously discovered neutropenia in children: diagnosis and follow-up]

Neutropenia seems to be quite frequent in current pediatric practice and can confuse the clinician since it may result from a severe cause. The aim of this study was to provide a prospective description of episodes of neutropenia in children to assess its clinical relevance in a general pediatric cohort consulting and/or hospitalized in a French university hospital. In this prospective observational and monocentric study conducted from April 2012 to April 2013, we included all the patients under 18 years of age who presented neutropenia (defined as an absolute neutrophil count [ANC] below 1×10(9)/L before 1 year of age and below 1.5×10(9)/L beyond) on a whole blood count (WBC) performed in our hospital. Patients treated with chemotherapy were not included. Medical records were regularly checked for at least 1 year after inclusion, and clinical and biological data were collected prospectively to compare transient episodes of neutropenia (<3 months) with persistent episodes of neutropenia (>3months). Of 55,018 consultations and 13,967 hospitalizations (chemotherapy excluded), 8966 blood counts were performed and 250 episodes of neutropenia were found in 238 patients. Data concerning clinical progression were available in 195 cases of which 136 had at least one subsequent WBC. Two hundred thirty-one episodes corresponded to new episodes, while neutropenia preexisted before inclusion in the others. The median follow-up was 12.8 months. Most episodes of neutropenia occurred in children <2 years of age (52%), with a median age of 22.2 months. Mean ANC was 0.943×10(9)/L (±0.340) and a few episodes of neutropenia were below 0.5×10(9)/L (9.2%). Neutropenia persisted more than 3 months in only 13.2% of cases. When neutropenia was below 0.5×10(9)/L, it significantly persisted (RR=3.08; 95% CI [1.31-7.22]). Other factors associated with persistent neutropenia were thrombocytopenia, monocytopenia, a CRP more than 70mg/L, significant abnormality on the clinical exam, and age over 24 months. However, multivariate analysis showed that only an ANC below 0.5×10(9)/L was significantly associated with persistence. While etiology could not be determined in 32% of cases, neutropenia resulted mostly from infectious causes (37.8%), with other causes being more anecdotal. The majority of infectious episodes of neutropenia were viral (90.3%). Like other studies, this investigation suggests that most episodes of neutropenia concern young children, are transient, are benign and often due to infectious diseases. Although it may not reflect the medullar stock or the real capacity of neutrophils to fight bacterial infections, it seems that neutropenia below 0.5×10(9)/L is more likely to persist and be complicated, as previous studies also suggest. To conclude, neutropenia is not exceptional in children and, even if it often results from viral infections and mostly evolves favorably, the clinician should closely monitor these patients, especially when neutrophils are below 0.5×10(9)/L.

Neutropenia during HIV infection: adverse consequences and remedies

Neutropenia frequently occurs in patients with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Causes for neutropenia during HIV infection are multifactoral, including the viral toxicity to hematopoietic tissue, the use of myelotoxic agents for treatment, complication with secondary infections and malignancies, as well as the patient's association with confounding factors which impair myelopoiesis. An increased prevalence and severity of neutropenia is commonly seen in advanced stages of HIV disease. Decline of neutrophil phagocytic defense in combination with the failure of adaptive immunity renders the host highly susceptible to developing fatal secondary infections. Neutropenia and myelosuppression also restrict the use of many antimicrobial agents for treatment of infections caused by HIV and opportunistic pathogens. In recent years, HIV infection has increasingly become a chronic disease because of progress in antiretroviral therapy (ART). Prevention and treatment of severe neutropenia becomes critical for improving the survival of HIV-infected patients.