Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis during the Postpartum Stage of Pregnancy: A Report of Eight Cases

Abstract

Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare and severe clinical syndrome that can be classified as either primary or secondary. Secondary HLH can be triggered by a variety of diseases. Pregnancy-related HLH has already been observed clinically. However, most of these cases occur during pregnancy. Considering that the periods before and after delivery have different clinical features, we presented the first case series of HLH that presented during the postpartum stage of pregnancy. From these cases, we concluded that postpartum HLH is a common form of pregnancy-related HLH. Patients with postpartum HLH may suffer more complicated pathogenesis. Cytopenia was not as common as in other types of HLH, but liver dysfunction was present in almost all cases. The standard therapy of HLH-94/04 was very effective, and the outcomes of postpartum HLH were better.