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Review
. 2019 Sep 25:8:F1000 Faculty Rev-1690.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.19957.1. eCollection 2019.

Haemolytic uremic syndrome: diagnosis and management

Neil S Sheerin  1 , Emily Glover  1
Affiliations
Review

Haemolytic uremic syndrome: diagnosis and management

Neil S Sheerin et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

The thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs) are a group of diseases characterised by microangiopathic haemolysis, thrombocytopenia, and thrombus formation leading to tissue injury. Traditionally, TMAs have been classified as either thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) or haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) based on the clinical presentation, with neurological involvement predominating in the former and acute kidney injury in the latter. However, as our understanding of the pathogenesis of these conditions has increased, it has become clear that this is an over-simplification; there is significant overlap in the clinical presentation of TTP and HUS, there are different forms of HUS, and TMAs can occur in other, diverse clinical scenarios. This review will discuss recent developments in the diagnosis of HUS, focusing on the different forms of HUS and how to diagnose and manage these potentially life-threatening diseases.

Keywords: Complement; Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome; Thrombotic microangiopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: Neil Sheerin has received sponsorship to attend meetings from Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Emily Glover declares that she has no competing interests. No competing interests were disclosed.No competing interests were disclosed.No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Activation of the complement cascade.
DAF, decay accelerating factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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