Autoimmune haemolytic anemia in children: A review of 17 cases.

ABSTRACT

Seventeen children with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) seen at the Department of Paediatrics, Siriraj Hospital during 1977 to 1986 were analysed. The patients were devided into 2 groups, acute and chronic types, according to their response to treatment. In acute type (3 cases) the disease occured within the first year of life, with abrupt onset and severe clinical symptoms but dramatic response to prednisolone. In chronic type (14 cases), the disease appeared mostly at 9-11 years of age, associated with underlying diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, thalassaemia or Hodgkin’s disease and poorly responded to prednisolone. Two patients died, from septicaemia in one case and from the uncontrolled underlying disease in another case.