All issues > Volume 46(11); 2003

Case Report

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2003;46(11):1139-1142. Published online November 15, 2003.

Aplastic Crisis Secondary to Parvovirus B19 Infection

Yang Joon YJ Park¹, Dae Kyun DK Koh¹, Jin Hee JH Oh¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Dae Kyun DK Koh ,Email: kdk7016@hanmail.net

Abstract

Human parvovirus(HPV) B19 infection causes erythema infectiosum in children, sometimes red cell aplastic crisis with hemolytic anemia and chronic bone marrow failure in immunocompromised hosts. HPV B19 is directly cytotoxic for erythroid progenitor cells and inhibits erythropoiesis. Infrequently, HPV B19 inhibits hematopoiesis of three cell lineages and causes transient pancytopenia in patients with hemolytic disorders. We report three patients with hereditary spherocytosis who developed transient aplastic crisis. A HPV B19 infection was confirmed by IgM anti-B19 parvovirus titers and characteristic findings of bone marrow examination as the causative agent associated with severe pancytopenia. Three patients recovered spontaneously after a short period of supportive care with red cell transfusions and intravenous immunoglobulin.

Keywords :Aplastic Crisis, Parvovirus B19, Hereditary spherocytosis