Tocilizumab in the treatment of hyperferritinemic syndrome and capillary leak syndrome secondary to rheumatoid arthritis: Case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, which is mainly characterized by joint swelling, pressure pain and joint destruction. Some patients may suffer from a variety of serious complications, which require prompt diagnosis and treatment. Otherwise, the patient condition may deteriorate rapidly, leading to premature death. OBJECTIVE: We reported a case of RA combined with hyperferritinemic syndrome and capillary leak syndrome (CLS) that was successfully treated with tocilizumab (TCZ), with the aim of improving diagnostic ideas for clinicians and consequently improving the diagnosis and treatment of the hyperferritinemic syndrome and CLS. CASE SUMMARY: A 55-year-old female patient was admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases of our hospital due to "recurrent fever for more than 1 month and aggravation for 3 days." The patient was diagnosed with fever of unknown origin (lung infection?) and received anti-infective therapy with large encirclement of anti-bacterial, antifungal and empirical anti-tuberculosis successively during hospitalization in the Department of Infectious Diseases. Yet her condition continues to progress. The patient was eventually diagnosed with RA combined with hyperferritinemic syndrome and CLS. Then she received glucocorticoids (GC) (160 mg qd) combined with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG, 20 g/d, for 3 days). We considered that the patient also had an overwhelming proinflammatory cytokine storm, so she received a strong anti-inflammatory treatment with TCZ (400 mg qm). The patient symptoms and follow-up chest CT showed significant improvement following treatment. CONCLUSION: TCZ has good efficacy in the treatment of RA combined with hyperferritinemic syndrome and CLS and is expected to be a promising treatment.

Conservative Management of Hyperferritinemia in Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

We report a newborn with hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) with rapid resolution of extreme hyperferritinemia without chelation. An infant born at 35+3 weeks with HDFN and a history of 3 intrauterine transfusions developed severe hyperferritinemia (maximum, 8258 mcg/L) without evidence of toxic iron deposition on liver biopsy. Her hyperferritinemia was managed with observation alone, and ferritin levels normalized rapidly. This case supports observation as being the preferred alternative to chelation therapy for significant hyperferritinemia in newborns with HDFN in the absence of demonstrated toxic end-organ iron deposition. We also include a review of the related available literature.

Hyperferritinemia in patients with COVID-19: An opportunity for iron chelation?

Studies from China on COVID-19 revealed that nonsurvivors had cytokine storm with high IL-6 and hyperferritinemia. Iron liberated from necrotic cells may catalyze free radical production and amplify lipid peroxidation causing membrane dysfunction and multiorgan failure. Consequently, iron chelators have been successfully utilized in various experimental and clinical models of cytokine storm and multiorgan damage, such as in ischemia-reperfusion injury, sepsis, and infections. Since viral replication may be influenced by iron accumulation, iron chelation has been proven beneficial in a variety of viral infections, such as HIV-1, hepatitis B virus, Mengovirus, Marburg hemorrhagic fever, Enterovirus 71, and West Nile virus. In this commentary, we elaborate on the idea of considering iron chelation as a therapeutic modality in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. For critically ill patients in the ICU, intravenous deferoxamine would provide sufficient and rapid iron chelation to ameliorate cytokine storm, whereas in less severe cases an oral chelator could prevent the development of excessive inflammatory response.

Successful treatment of refractory hyperferritinemic syndromes with canakinumab: a report of two cases.

BACKGROUND: Hyperferritinemic syndromes are systemic inflammatory disorders characterized by a dysfunctional immune response, which leads to excessive activation of the monocyte-macrophage system with hypercytokinemia and may pursue a rapidly fatal course. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe two patients of 11 and 9 years of age with hyperferritinemic syndromes, one with impending macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) and one with overt MAS, who were refractory or intolerant to conventional therapies, but improved dramatically with canakinumab. CONCLUSIONS: Our report indicates that canakinumab may be efficacious in the management of hyperferritinemic syndromes, including MAS.