Acute hemorrhagic edema of infancy: 20-year experience from an Italian tertiary referral center.

PURPOSE: Data on acute hemorrhagic edema of infancy (AHEI) are derived from small case series or case reports. We report a 20-year experience at a national referral center. METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective study including patients who were diagnosed with AHEI from January 1, 2004, to June 30, 2023. RESULTS: We identified 21 patients (57.1% females) with a median age of 18 months (range 7-33 months). Thirteen (61.9%) patients were admitted to the pediatric ward, the remaining eight (38.1%) presented to the emergency department and were discharged for outpatient management. The median length of hospitalization was 5 days (range 3-9 days). Twenty patients (95.2%) had prodromal symptoms. The most common cutaneous findings were targetoid purpuric plaques. The lesions were most localized on the face (13, 61.9%) and on the upper limbs (18 patients, 85.7%). Sixteen (76%) patients presented with nonpitting and tender edema, localized on the feet (9/16, 56%) and hands (6/16, 37.5%). Systemic involvement was rare, and no patients experienced complications or sequelae. Twelve (57.1%) patients underwent infectious disease investigations, with positive results in only four (33.3%). None of the patients diagnosed after the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak (March 2020) had positive nasopharyngeal swabs for the virus. For the 13 patients who were admitted to the pediatric ward, the median length of hospitalization was five days (3-9 days). CONCLUSIONS: The 21-patient single-center cohort of children affected by AHEI confirmed a generally benign course of AHEI, despite a 62% rate of hospitalization.

To switch or to swap? Evidence from a meta-analysis for the best treatment approach in childhood chronic uveitis resistant to the I anti-TNF.

Objective: Since adalimumab approval in childhood chronic non-infectious uveitis (cNIU), the prognosis has been dramatically changed, but the 25 % failed to achieve inactivity. There is not accordance if it is better to switch to another anti-TNF or to swap to another category of biologic. Thus, we aim to summarize evidence regarding the best treatment of cNIU refractory to the first anti-TNF. Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis, according to PRISMA Guidelines, was performed(Jan2000-Aug2023). Studies investigating the efficacy of treatment in cNIU refractory to the first anti-TNF were considered for inclusion. The primary outcome was the improvement of intraocular inflammation according to SUN. A combined estimation of the proportion of children responding to switch or swap and for each drug was performed. Results: 23 articles were eligible, reporting 150 children of whom 109 switched anti-TNF (45 adalimumab, 49 infliximab, 9 golimumab) and 41 swapped to another biologics (31 abatacept, 8 tocilizumab and 1 rituximab). The proportion of responding children was 46 %(95 % CI 23-70) for switch and 38 %(95 % CI 8-73) for swap (χ20.02, p = 0.86). Instead analysing for each drug, the proportion of responding children was the 24 %(95 % CI 2-55) for adalimumab, 43 %(95 % CI 2-80) for abatacept, 79 %(95 % CI 61-93) for infliximab, 56 %(95 % CI 14-95) for golimumab and 96 %(95 % CI 58-100) for tocilizumab. We evaluated a superiority of tocilizumab and infliximab compared to the other drugs(χ2 27.5 p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Although non-conclusive, this meta-analysis suggests that, after the first anti-TNF failure, tocilizumab and infliximab are the best available treatment for the management of cNIU.