Clinical analysis of 18 children with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infectionHU
Bo-fei1,ZHANG Li1,SHI Dan1,YANG Ying1,XU Mei-chun1,XU Wei-qun2,XU Xiao-jun2,SONG Hua2,TANG Yong-min2,CHEN Ying-hu1( The Children 's Hospital,Zhejiang University School of Medicine,Hangzhou 310052,China; 1 Department ofInfectious Diseases,2 Department of Hematology)
Abstract Objective To study the clinical and laboratory characteristics,treatment and follow-up results of chronic activeEpstein-Barr virus infection( CAEBV) in children and to provide a basis for the diagnosis and treatment of CAEBV. Methods Theclinical data of 18 children with CAEBV from Jan 1st,2010 to Dec 31st,2017 was analyzed retrospectively,including onset,clinical manifestation,EBV DNA,EBV antibodies,cytokines,treatment and follow-up results. Results The onset of the diseasewas EBV recurrent infection at the time of first hospitalization in 13 cases,and EBV-hematophagous lymphocyte hyperplasia( HLH) in 5 cases. The common clinical manifestations were fever,hepatosplenomegaly,and lymphadenopathy. Laboratory testsshowed that elevated transaminase and cytopenia were common. The anti-EB VCA-IgG antibodies were positive,while the IgMantibodies were negative in 18 cases. EBV DNA in peripheral blood( 18 /18) ,bone marrow( 14 /14) and biopsy sample( live: 1 /4,lymphonodus: 2 /3) was positive. Plasma levels of several cytokines,including IL-4,IL-10 and IFN-γ,elevated in different degreesin persons with CAEBV,while the ratio of B cells,total T cells,CD8+T cells,and NK cells in peripheral blood decreased. Thepatients had mainly received antiviral drugs,intravenous immune globulin,immunosuppressive agents,multi-drug chemotherapy,rituximab,and HSCT. Among 17 CAEBV patients followed up,14 cases died. The patients with EBV-associated HLH hadsignificantly shorter survival time. Conclusion The children with CAEBV infection had poor prognosis and high mortality due to thevariety of onset,clinical manifestation and treatment. The specific changes of EBV DNA,antibody profiles,cytokines andlymphocyte subsets may be helpful in the early diagnosis and targeted therapy of CAEBV.
Key words Chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection; Hematophagous lymphocyte hyperplasia; Lymphocyte subsets;Cytokines