Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is the most common cause of thrombocytopenia in children. This retrospective study was designed to analyze presenting features of ITP cases in Benha, evaluate outcomes in children and determine prognostic factors. This research was accepted by Research Ethics Committee (REC) of Faculty of Medicine, Benha University (chairman: Prof. Nermeen Adly Mahmoud). Ethics comittee refrence number MS 40-3/2019. Records of 308 children with ITP in Benha University Hospitals and Benha Children Hospital haematology clinics between May 2014 and January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Socio-demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of the studied children such as age, gender, the type of residence, the date of diagnosis, complaints at presentation, preceding vaccination or infection, the type of bleeding, initial platelet count, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) level, initial treatment, and outcomes were recorded. A total of 308 children diagnosed with ITP were included, clinical courses were determined as newly diagnosed and chronic in 71.4% and 28.6%, respectively. The median age of patients at diagnosis was 5 ± 3.4 years. The male/female ratio was 1.14. The median age at diagnosis was significantly higher in chronic ITP patients (p < 0.001); patients ≥ 10 years were more likely to develop chronic ITP than younger ones (p = 0.029). Regarding residency, seasonality, type of bleeding and history of preceding infection or vaccination, the difference was not statistically significant. Initial platelet counts > 20 × 109 were significantly more prevalent in chronic ITP (p < 0.001). LDH level at presentation was significantly higher in chronic cases (p = 0.046). Initial lines of treatment were the following: steroids, IVIG, and IVIG with steroids (in 88%, 5.2%, and 2.9% of the cases, respectively). A total of 3.9% of the children did not receive any treatment. There was no significant difference in the outcomes between the initial lines of treatment (p = 0.105). In our study, age > 10 years, female gender, higher platelet count and high LDH level at presentation were found to increase the probability of chronic ITP.

Background: The diagnosis in cases of mediastinal and hilar lymphadenitis without parenchymal involvement of the lung is often difficult. Mediastinal lymphadenopathy may be due to a variety of benign or malignant reasons. Hence, it is important to establish a diagnosis and differentiate benign from malignant lymph nodes.Aim of the work: To study the usefulness of fiberoptic bronchoscopy in diagnosis of patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy.Patients and methods: The present study included 30 patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. All were subjected to written informed consent, full history taking, full clinical examination, tuberculin skin test, chest X-ray and CT chest. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy including autofluorescence bronchoscopy with mucosal biopsies, TBNA and bronchial lavage were also obtained.Results: 46.7% of the study patients were diagnosed as malignancy, 20% diagnosed as sarcoidosis, 10% diagnosed as TB, 3.33% diagnosed as reactive lymphadenitis and 20% were undiagnosed. Observed anatomical airway abnormalities included vocal cord paralysis (16.7%), tracheal compression (3.3%), widening of main or second carina (80%) and mucosal abnormalities (46.7%) in the form of nodules, infiltration with tumour tissue and unhealthy mucosa. Bronchial mucosal biopsy was the most useful method of diagnosis (56.7%) followed by TBNA (30%) and finally BAL (13.3%). AFB has no cost effective value over WLB in detection of malignant lesions.

No abstract