Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and Hodgkin’s Disease: An Unusual Pediatric Association

Abstract

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a recognized complication of lymphoproliferative disorders. AIHA associated with Hodgkin’s disease (HD) is uncommon especially in the pediatric population. The diagnosis of AIHA is usually associated with HD at the time of initial presentation or during the course of disease, but it could precede it by years to months. In adults the association of AIHA and HD is more frequent in advanced stages and in the nodular sclerosis and mixed cellularity type HD. Warm immune hemolytic anemia is mainly controlled with steroids and chemotherapy. We report a case of a pediatric patient with direct antiglobulin positive test at the diagnosis of a late relapse of stage III B mixed cellularity type HD.