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[Severe aplastic anemia in children]
Teresa Cristina Cardoso Fonseca1, Ricardo Paquini
1Departamento de Pediatria, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. skil@pucsp.br
Insights
Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a rare disease. In young patients, SAA is more common in 11-year-old girls from urban South Brazil with low socioeconomic status and prior exposure to pesticides or benzene derivatives.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
Context:
- Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a rare, life-threatening condition.
- Characterizing SAA in pediatric populations is challenging due to its rarity.
- Identifying etiological factors is crucial for understanding disease pathogenesis.
Purpose:
- To describe cases of SAA in young patients.
- To characterize patient demographics, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic status.
- To investigate potential etiological factors associated with SAA in this cohort.
Summary:
- A descriptive analysis of 134 pediatric patients (age 2-18) with SAA from 1979-1993 in South Brazil.
- Findings indicate SAA is more prevalent in 11-year-old girls from urban areas with low socioeconomic status.
- Identified etiological factors include prior exposure to agricultural pesticides and benzene derivatives in 34% of cases.
Impact:
- Provides insights into the epidemiological features of SAA in a young population.
- Highlights the association between SAA, low socioeconomic status, and environmental exposures.
- Informs future research on SAA etiology and prevention strategies in vulnerable populations.
Unlabelled:
A Severe Aplastic Anemia is a rare disease that happens in the entire world. Because the rarity, it is difficult to characterize the features of the patients that have this disease, and to find their possible etiological factors.
Purpose:
To report all cases of severe aplastic anemia in young people who were attended in the hospital and characterize some variables like age, sex, geographic area of residence, etiologies and socioeconomic status.
Methods:
It was done a descriptive analyze of all pediatric patient's features (below 18 years) who came to the hospital in 1979-1993 with severe aplastic anemia based on the classification proposed for Camitta et al. The data were obtained from the hospital records in 134 children, and the investigator in 79 families performed interviews.
Results:
The age ranged from 2-18 years (mean 10.89 years). The male to female ratio was 64:70. Most of the patients came from urban zone of south Brazil. We did not identify any etiologic agents in 34% of the cases. Prior exposure to the agricultural pesticides and benzene derivative was the most common etiologic factors that were related. The household income of 83.5% of the families was < $ 65 U.S./capita, and 70.9% of the patient's mother did not finish the primary school CONCLUSION. In this group, severe aplastic anemia is more frequent in 11 years old girls. Most of them are the in urban zone of south Brazil, with low socioeconomic status, and related prior exposure agricultural pesticides and benzene derivative.