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Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the leading direct or contributory cause of death in patients with haematological malignancies. Early diagnosis remains difficult and often elusive due the heterogeneity of clinical presentations and the low sensitivity of both histological examination and cultures of specimens obtained from patients at risk. We report two cases of IA, both of which lacked both histological and cultural evidence of IA from pulmonary specimens. In both patients, detection of galactomannan (GM) by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) on pulmonary tissue homogenates led to the diagnosis of IA, which was confirmed by Aspergillus DNA (real time PCR). In conclusion, we provide preliminary evidence that lung homogenates may be prepared for GM EIA assays, which may contribute to quick diagnosis of IA on otherwise negative samples. We feel that our results open up the opportunity of a prospective and comparative evaluation of this diagnostic technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case study of a 15-year-old girl with a previous diagnosis of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is presented. It discusses association between Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD), macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA). It mentions that the girl was treated with the anti-interleukin-1 receptor antagonist anakinra for 2 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is a rare heterogeneous disorder characterized by pancytopenia and hypoplastic bone marrow. The incidence is 2–3 per million population per year in the Western world, but 3 times higher in East Asia. Survival in severe aplastic anemia (SAA) has improved significantly due to advances in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), immunosuppressive therapy, biologic agents, and supportive care. In SAA, HSCT from a matched sibling donor (MSD) is the first-line treatment. If a MSD is not available, options include immunosuppressive therapy (IST), matched unrelated donor, or haploidentical HSCT. The purpose of this guideline is to provide health care professionals with clear guidance on the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients with AA. A preliminary evidence-based document prepared by a group of pediatric hematologists of the Bone Marrow Failure Study Group of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hemato-Oncology (AIEOP) was discussed, modified and approved during a series of consensus conferences that started online during COVID 19 and continued in the following years, according to procedures previously validated by the AIEOP Board of Directors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]