Mother to Child Transmission of Infectious Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome: An Intriguing Case
Suksham Jain
Department of Neonatology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India.
Anshu Palta
Department of Pathology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India.
Anam Siddiqui *
Department of Neonatology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is one of the common causes of acute renal failure in children, but it is rarely encountered in newborns. It comprises of a triad of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, non-immune thrombocytopenia and renal failure. Neonatal cases of HUS predominantly belong to the atypical category, resulting from abnormalities of the complement pathway or cobalamin C disorders. However, HUS cases due to infection have rarely been reported in newborns. For infection associated HUS e.g., due to Shiga toxin producing E.coli (STEC), presence of diarrhea is not a must and some cases associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) have also been seen. We present a case of a female newborn who developed HUS by acquiring the infection from her mother who had UTI associated HUS.
Keywords: Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), neonate, vertical transmission, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI).