Pitfalls of Thrombotic Microangiopathies in Children: Two Case Reports and Literature Review
Adriana Mocanu,
Roxana Alexandra Bogos,
Tudor Ilie Lazaruc,
Anca Lavinia Cianga,
Vasile Valeriu Lupu,
Ileana Ioniuc,
Mirabela Alecsa,
Ancuta Lupu,
Anca Viorica Ivanov,
Ingrith Crenguta Miron,
Iuliana Magdalena Starcea
Affiliations
Adriana Mocanu
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Roxana Alexandra Bogos
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Tudor Ilie Lazaruc
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Anca Lavinia Cianga
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Vasile Valeriu Lupu
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Ileana Ioniuc
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Mirabela Alecsa
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Ancuta Lupu
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Anca Viorica Ivanov
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Ingrith Crenguta Miron
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Iuliana Magdalena Starcea
Mother and Child Medicine Department, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Thrombotic microangiopathy can present itself in the form of several clinical entities, representing a real challenge for diagnosis and treatment in pediatric practice. Our article aims to explore the evolution of two rare cases of pediatric thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) with extremely similar clinical pictures, which, coincidentally, presented at approximately the same time in our hospital. These cases and our literature review demonstrate the multiple facets of thrombotic microangiopathy, which can produce various determinations and salient manifestations even among the pediatric population. TTP and aHUS may represent genuine diagnostic pitfalls through the overlap of their clinical and biological findings, although they develop through fundamentally different mechanisms that require different therapeutic approaches. As a novelty, we underline that COVID-19 infection cannot be excluded as potential trigger for TTP and aHUS in our patients and we predict that other reports of such an association will follow, raising a complex question of COVID-19’s implication in the occurrence and evolution of thrombotic microangiopathies. On this matter, we conducted literature research that resulted in 15 cases of COVID-19 pediatric infections associated with either TTP or aHUS. Taking into consideration the morbidity associated with TTP and aHUS, an elaborate differential diagnosis and prompt intervention are of the essence.
