Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 2 in a female Chinese neonate: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 2 (FHL2) is a rare genetic disorder presenting with fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and pancytopenia secondary to perforin-1 (PRF1) mutation. FLH2 has been described in Chinese but usually presents after 1 year old. We describe a female Chinese neonate with FHL2 secondary to compound heterozygous PRF1 mutation with symptom onset before 1 mo old. We review Chinese FHL2 patients in the literature for comparison.

CASE SUMMARY

A 15-d-old female neonate was referred to our hospital for persistent fever and thrombocytopenia with diffuse petechiae. She was born to a G5P3 mother at 39 wk and 4 d via cesarean section secondary to breech presentation. No resuscitation was required at birth. She was described to be very sleepy with poor appetite since birth. She developed a fever up to 39.5°C at 7 d of life. Leukocytosis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia were detected at a local medical facility

CONCLUSION

A literature review identified 75 Chinese FHL2 patients, with only five presenting in the first year of life. Missense and frameshift mutations are the most common PRF1 mutations in Chinese, with 24.8% having c.1349C>T followed by 11.6% having c.65delC. The c.658G>C mutation has only been reported once in the literature and our case suggests it can be pathogenic, at least in the presence of another pathogenic mutation such as c.1066C>T.

Keywords: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; Perforin-1; Neonate; Compound heterozygous; Case report

Core Tip: We report the case of a newborn infant with familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis who had clinical manifestations by the age of 7 d. The genetic test revealed a compound heterozygous mutation of c.658G>C (p.Gly220Arg) and c.1066C>T (p.Arg356Trp). The two mutations carried by the index cases were not commonly seen variants in Chinese PRF1 mutations. The clinical manifestation of our case strongly suggests that c.658G>C (p.Gly220Arg) is also a pathogenic variant.