A retrospective study of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in children in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India

Introduction: Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare disorder that is being increasingly reported in children from the Indian subcontinent.

Objective: To describe the profile of HLH in children in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India.

Method: This is a retrospective study of all children diagnosed to have HLH from March 2015 to August 2016 and admitted to the paediatric department of Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, India. The case records of the children with HLH were analysed.

Results: Fifteen children were diagnosed with HLH during the study period. All were secondary cases, infection being the predominant cause. More than 50% needed some immune modulation in the form of steroids /intravenous immunoglobulin. Two succumbed to complications.

Conclusions: All 15 cases of HLH were secondary (acquired). Eighty percent of the cases were secondary to infection.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2018; 47: 219-222