Acute Hemorrhagic Edema of Infancy: an unusual diagnosis for the general pediatrician

Authors

  • Diego Fontana Siqueira Cunha Department of Pediatrics - Hospital das Clínicas - Faculty of Medicine - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Ana Letícia Fornazieri Darcie Faculty of Medicine - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Gabriel Nuncio Benevides Faculty of Medicine - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Angela Espósito Ferronato Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Noely Hein Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Denise Swei Lo Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Cristina Ryoka Miyao Yoshioka Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Maki Hirose Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Débora Morais Cardoso Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP
  • Alfredo Elias Gilio Division of Pediatrics - Hospital Universitário - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP

Keywords:

Infant, Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous, Orchitis, Steroids, Purpura

Abstract

Acute Hemorrhagic Edema of Infancy (AHEI) is a rare leukocytoclastic vasculitis, clinically characterized by the classical triad: palpable purpuric skin lesions, edema and fever, and is commonly misdiagnosed as Henoch-Schönlein purpura. In addition to its sudden onset, AHEI is also characterized by its self-limited course with complete and spontaneous recovery occurring between 1 and 3 weeks. Because of the scarcity of studies on therapy with corticosteroids, the conservative approach is usually recommended. The authors report an unusual case of an one-year-old boy who presented with typical
cutaneous rash of AHEI and orchitis, the latter showing complete resolution after less than 24 hours of prednisolone therapy. The authors call attention to this entity mainly as a differential diagnosis of Henoch-Schönlein purpura and to the importance of new studies to establish the benefits of corticosteroid therapy for AHEI.

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Published

2015-09-28

Issue

Section

Article / Clinical Case Report

How to Cite

Acute Hemorrhagic Edema of Infancy: an unusual diagnosis for the general pediatrician. (2015). Autopsy and Case Reports, 5(3), 37-41. https://revistas.usp.br/autopsy/article/view/107007