Atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome in an Infant with Ventricular Septal Defect: A Case Report

Abstract

Atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (aHUS) is a rare type of thrombotic microangiopathy that occurs without Shiga toxin producing bacteria. It is a condition related to complement regulation, which may be genetic or acquired. The complement system’s alternative pathway is commonly implicated, with around 6-10% of cases being caused by autoantibodies directed against factor H. While it typically affects children between 9 to 13-years-old, it can also occur in adults. Many patients do not have circulating Complement Factor H-related proteins 1 and 3 due to a homozygous deletion involving CFHR1 and CFHR3. Authors hereby report a case of a six-month-old female child who was diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) at one and a half months of age. She presented with pneumonia and subsequently developed haemolytic anaemia with thrombocytopenia, oliguria, and acute kidney failure. She was diagnosed with Antifactor H antibody-mediated HUS. She was treated with plasma therapy, but the patient succumbed due to multiorgan dysfunction.

Keywords

• acute renal failure
• haemolytic anaemia
• thrombotic microangiopathy