[Benign hemophagocytic syndrome. First confirmed case in Panama]

The authors present the clinical history of the first case of benign hemophagocytic syndrome diagnosed in Panama. The patient, a 4 year old girl, presented with fever, anemia, cervical lymphadenitis, hepatomegaly, lymphocytosis and histophagocytosis of red cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils and platelets. Spontaneous remission of the fever occurred sixty days after the onset of the disease. Although it was not possible to demonstrate serologically that the syndrome was due to acute toxoplasmosis, she was treated with sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine for fifteen days, on the 37th hospital day, and with clindamycin for ten days, consecutively. Remission occurred seventy days after the onset of fever. A second serological examination for toxoplasmosis (immunofluorescent antibodies) was positive in a titer of 1:2048 again, nine months after the first serology.