Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by peripheral blood eosinophilia of 1.5 × 10/L (1,500/μL) or greater, with evidence of end-organ damage attributable to eosinophilia (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is a distinctive JIA subtype with mostly nonspecific systemic clinical features, which can be a diagnostic challenge. This study aimed to analyze our experience with sJIA in Latvia for twelve years: assessing clinical and epidemiological characteristics, the efficacy of therapy, and disease outcomes, including the development of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). : This is a descriptive study in which we conducted a retrospective case review of all patients with sJIA diagnosis admitted to the only pediatric tertiary centre in Latvia during the period 2009-2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince the first cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in April 2020, the diagnostic challenge has been to recognize this syndrome and to differentiate it from other clinically similar pathologies such as Kawasaki disease (KD) and toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Our objective is to compare clinical signs, laboratory data and instrumental investigations between patients with MIS-C, KD and TSS. This retrospective observational study was conducted at the Children's Clinical University Hospital, Latvia (CCUH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA; formerly known as Churg-Strauss syndrome) is classified as an antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated small vessel vasculitis. It is a multisystem disorder and can affect every organ system. EGPA is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence of 1/70,000-100,000 in Europe.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to address the main challenges related to the rare diseases (RDs) the European Commission launched the European Reference Networks (ERNs), virtual networks involving healthcare providers (HCPs) across Europe. The mission of the ERNs is to tackle low prevalence and RDs that require highly specialised treatment and a concentration of knowledge and resources. In fact, ERNs offer the potential to give patients and healthcare professionals across the EU access to the best expertise and timely exchange of lifesaving knowledge, trying to make the knowledge travelling more than patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have a high risk of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement. Lesions in the TMJ appear early in the course of this disease. Evaluating the structure of the TMJ in JIA patients using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) provides an understanding of the typical radiologic features of morphological change in TMJs of JIA patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthritis is seen very often (38-87 %) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). With contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) we can detect more cases of TMJ arthritis than ever before. Previous studies show that HLA II class alleles may have protective or risk importance in JIA subtypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To seek insights into the heterogeneity of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) complicating systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) through the analysis of a large patient sample collected in a multinational survey.
Methods: International pediatric rheumatologists and hemato-oncologists entered their patient data, collected retrospectively, in a Web-based database. The demographic, clinical, laboratory, histopathologic, therapeutic, and outcome data were analyzed in relation to (1) geographic location of caring hospital, (2) subspecialty of attending physician, (3) demonstration of hemophagocytosis, and (4) severity of clinical course.