Children's hemorrhagic vasculitis is a disease that affects mainly the skin capillaries, as well as the blood vessels of the digestive tract, joints and kidneys. It belongs to the group of immunocomplex allergic vasopathies of infectious nature. The onset of the development of the disease can occur at any age, but, as a rule, very young children (up to 3 years old) suffer from this disease extremely rarely.
Most often, vasculitis is diagnosed in children aged 4 to 12 years.
There are several forms of hemorrhagic vasculitis, different in their manifestations and nature. Thus, the vasopathy is divided into two subgroups: hereditary (Hippel-Landau disease, Ehlers-Danlo syndrome, Kazabaha-Merrita syndrome, Louis-Bar, etc.) and acquired (symptomatic vasculitis with allergies of various origins, toxic, hypovitaminous and infectious vasopathies, etc.).
Vasculitis hemorrhagic: causes
The disease is caused by damage to the capillary walls and an increase in the permeability of the vessels as a whole, as well as activation of the complementary system and an increase in the number of immune complexes produced.
Most often, the development of the disease begins some time after an infectious disease (ARVI, tonsillitis, scarlet fever, etc.). Sometimes the development of vasculitis is preceded by drug intolerance (or other kinds of allergic reactions), hypothermia, vaccination, trauma.
Symptoms of vasculitis in children
In the predominant majority of cases, the first symptom of the disease is the appearance of a small skin rash of a reddish color. Foci of rashes: folds of limbs, buttocks, an area around the joints. Rarely appear rashes on the face, palms and feet, trunk. After the rash passes, dark pigmented spots remain in its place, which begin to peel off with frequent relapses of the disease.
The next most common symptom is joint damage. It is observed from the first week of illness. The nature and duration of pain can be very different, mostly large joints, especially the ankle and knee, are affected. In this case, the joint swells, but there are no functional deformations and irreversible tissue disorders of the joint.
The third most common symptom is abdominal pain. Can manifest with or defeat the skin and joints. Attacks of pain can repeatedly repeat throughout the day, without a clear localization. Often, nausea, vomiting, and fever are also observed. In rare cases, gastric or intestinal bleeding is possible.
Sometimes with hemorrhagic vasculitis, renal or other organs (lung, heart, brain vessels) are affected. The severity of lesions can be very diverse - from minor, to moderate and even severe cases.
Hemorrhagic vasculitis in children: treatment
The nature and methods of therapy differ depending on the phase and form of the disease (first case, relapse of the disease or remission period), on clinical manifestations and severity, and on the duration and nature of the course of the disease. But it is still possible to single out the most general, typical treatment regimen.
For all forms of the disease, antiaggregants are used. Assign kurantil (persanthin, dipyridamole) 4 times a day at the rate of 5-8 mg per kilogram of body weight, trental (agapurine, pentoxifylline) 3 times a day for 5-10 mg / kg body weight. In severe cases, both types of drugs can be administered simultaneously. The duration of the course of treatment can be different - from 2 to 12 months, depending on the severity of the disease. When chronic form appoint periodic repeated courses (quarterly or every six months).
Anti-coagulants are used in individual dosage, activators of fibrinolysis, enterosorbents, glucocorticosteroids, membrane stabilizers, cytostatics, antihistamines. Transfusion therapy and plasmapheresis are also used. The choice of drugs and methods of treatment should be done only by a doctor,
Prevention of hemorrhagic vasculitis
The most important role for the prevention of the disease is the prevention, prevention of exacerbations of infectious foci, isolation from allergens. Patients do not make samples with bacterial antigens (Burne test, tuberculin, etc.). To prevent hemorrhagic vasculitis in children is important hypoallergenic, sparing diet, a full nutritious diet and a healthy lifestyle.