A Case of Hemophagocytic Syndrome as a Complication of Acute Hepatitis A

Korean J Med > Volume 80(2); 2011 > Article

Original Article

The Korean Journal of Medicine 2011;80(2):278-282.

A Case of Hemophagocytic Syndrome as a Complication of Acute Hepatitis A

Young-Hoon Park1, Dae-Young Kim2, Sung-Doo Kim2, Jung-Hee Lee2, Je-Hwan Lee2, Kyoo-Hyung Lee2

급성 A형 간염의 합병증으로 발생한 혈구포식증후군 1예

박영훈1, 김대영2, 김성두2, 이정희2, 이제환2, 이규형2

Abstract

Virus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (VAHS) is a severe hematological disease characterized by persistent fever, peripheral blood cytopenia, hyperferritinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow, spleen, or lymph nodes. Despite the high incidence of viral infections in the general population, VAHS complicated by hepatitis A infection is rare worldwide, and there is no standard treatment for VAHS. Treatments include correcting the peripheral blood cytopenia and controlling the infectious causes and immunosuppression, such as with cyclosporine A and corticosteroids. We report on a patient who was diagnosed with hepatitis A virus-associated VAHS, and has been free of signs and symptoms of VAHS for 2 years with a combination of corticosteroid and cyclosporin A.

Key Words: Hemophagocytic syndrome; Hepatitis A; Cyclosporin