Analysis of infectious complications in paediatric autoimmune neutropenia: a French nationwide retrospective cohort study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Autoimmune neutropenia (AIN) is the main cause of chronic neutropenia in children, but its infectious consequences remain poorly studied. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate infectious events leading to emergency department or hospital admissions during the first 2 years following the diagnosis of AIN in children. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, multicentre analysis of medical records from 21 French university hospitals of patients aged under 18 years diagnosed with AIN with positive antineutrophils autoantibodies. We collected data on emergency room visits and hospitalisations in the 2 years following diagnosis, causes of these events, microbiology results, management and outcome. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-eight patients were enrolled. Median age at diagnosis of AIN was 13 months. AIN was predominantly diagnosed during an infectious episode (n=120, 71%). In the 2 years of follow-up after diagnosis, 248 events of emergency room visits and/or hospitalisations were reported (0.77 per patient-year). The most frequent diagnoses were common childhood viral or bacterial infections. The incidence rate of severe infections was 0.003 per patient-year. Despite the predominance of viral infections, 177 episodes (71%) led to hospitalisation and 166 (68%) to the initiation of antibiotic therapy, for a median duration of 7 days (IQR 3-10). CONCLUSION: The risk of severe infections in children with AIN is low. During follow-up, we suggest being attentive to signs of severity during fever, particularly in children over 3 years of age and/or with other immunological comorbidities but not proposing systematic hospitalisation or additional antibiotic therapy.
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood
Authors: Robin Dhersin, Estelle Trebucq, Marie Rimbert, Jérémie Rouger-Gaudichon, Florent Neumann, Pascal Chastagner, Grégory Guimard, Dominique Plantaz, Sandrine Billet, Wadih Abouchahla, Audrey Petit, Eric Jeziorski, Valérie Li Thiao Te, Nathalie Cheikh, Nathalie Aladjidi, Liana Carausu, Caroline Thomas, Audrey Grain, Joy Benadiba, Laurence Blanc, Elie Cousin, Aude Marie-Cardine, Despina Moshous, Marlène Pasquet, Julien Lejeune, Saba Azarnoush, Blandine Beaupain, Vincent Dubée, Isabelle Pellier, Jean Donadieu, Coralie Mallebranche
Institutions: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers, Université d'Angers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie, CHU Dijon Bourgogne, Centre Hospitalier Régional et Universitaire de Nancy, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Reims, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, Hôpital de la Timone, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Amiens-Picardie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besançon, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Brest, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Poitiers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, Hôpital Charles-Nicolle, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Inserm, Institut Necker Enfants Malades, Institut des Maladies Génétiques Imagine, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tours, Hôpital Robert-Debré, Hôpital Armand-Trousseau, Délégation Régionale Grand Ouest, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie et Immunologie Intégrée Nantes Angers, Université de Nantes, Nantes Université
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7124142128