A case of bacteria associated hemophagocytic syndrome

ABSTRACT

Hemophagocytic syndrome has been identified as a benign reactive histocytic proliferation with marked hemophagocytosis and usually associated with systemic viral infection. Recently similar cases that were associated with bacteria have been described. The syndrome is clinically characterized by fever, severe constitutional symptoms, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and laboratory findings of pancytopenia, hemophagocytosis, abnormal liver function test and coagulopathy. The authors experienced a case of bacteria associated hemophagocytic syndrome in a 11-year old girl following Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. The patient showed characteristic clinical features of hemophagocytic syndrome, peripheral pancytopenia and phagocytized histiocytes in bone marrow. The brief review of the literature was made.