HEMOPHAGOCYTIC SYNDROME, A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY INTHE MILITARY HOSPITAL MOHAMED V RABAT MOROCCO

Abstract

Hemophagocytic Syndrome (HS) is an aggressive and life-threatening syndrome of excessive immune activation. It is
mostly associated with underlying pathology, it can reveal: immunodeficiency, infections, cancers and auto-immune
diseases.
Objective of work: Identify the clinical, biological, etiological and evolutionary features of the HLH.
Methods: A retrospective study of patients with HS syndrome collected in the Hematology Laboratory of the Mohamed V
Military Hospital Rabat (MVMHR) in Morocco (between 2013 and 2015).
Results: We identified 7 cases, 4 males and 3 females, middle aged 46 years. The onset of symptoms was brutal in all
patients. The splenomegaly and the inflammatory syndrome were found in all cases. The pancytopenia was observed in 6
patients. The hemophagocytosis in bone marrow smear examination was found in all cases. There were infectious
underlying causes in 4 cases: one case of visceral leishmaniasis, one case of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis, one case of
Escherichia coli sepsis and one case of glandular tuberculosis. For the other patients, there was a case of follicular
lymphoma, a case of Hodgkin lymphoma and a case of myelodysplastic syndrome. The outcome was favorable in 3 cases, 4
patients died.