Autoimmune hemolytic anemias in children

This book examines the characteristics of autoimmune hemolytic anemias in children based on a retrospective study of pediatric patients with a positive direct Coombs test. Epidemiological clinical biological and therapeutic data were analyzed using SPSS software. A total of 17 patients were included (10 girls and 7 boys) with an average age of three years. The most frequent etiologies identified were visceral leishmaniasis (5 cases) and β-thalassemia major (4 cases). In addition to transfusions corticosteroid therapy was administered to 10 of the 17 patients with cure observed in 4 cases (23.5%). Although viral infections are generally considered to be the main causes of these anemias our study revealed a predominance of visceral leishmaniasis an etiology rarely mentioned in the literature. Autoimmune hemolytic anemias remain rare pathologies often associated with a poor prognosis. A thorough etiological investigation and complete immunohematological workup are essential to optimize therapeutic management.