Current Pediatric Research

Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess epidemiologic, demographic characteristics and clinical findings of Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) in the Taif region of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: Records of 27 patients who were followed-up with the diagnosis of HSP between January 2012 and December 2015 in the department of pediatrics in Alhada armed forces hospital of Taif region. Demographic characteristics of the patients, season of presentation, clinical findings, triggering factors, laboratory data, and the duration of follow-up periods were evaluated.

Results: Of the 27 patients, 14 were boys (52%) and 13 were girls (48%), with a ratio of 1.1:1. Ages ranged from 2 years to 18 years, with a mean of 8.3 years. About 45% of the patients had a history of preceding upper respiratory infection. All of them had the typical skin rash. The percentages of joint, gastro-intestinal and renal manifestations were 85.2%, 77.8% and 37%, respectively. Testicular involvement was found in two patients, while no involvement was recorded for the central nervous system.

Conclusion: It is obviously that HSP patients could have various clinical symptoms and exceptional complications; however, it can lead to long-term illness particularly in patients with severe kidney involvement. In this study, there were mean age and season distribution differences for the HSP patients in Taif region comparing to other area in KSA.

Author(s): Abdulla A Alharthi

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