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Case Reports
. 2025 Jun 30;17(4):33.
doi: 10.3390/hematolrep17040033.

Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphocytosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Jacob Boccucci  1 , Ramalakshmi Thulluri  2 , Chandini Kannan  1 , Matthew Gold  1 , Vamsi Kota  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphocytosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Jacob Boccucci et al. Hematol Rep. .

Abstract

Background and Clinical Significance: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare and life-threatening condition that can go underdiagnosed due to overlapping features with severe infections. While the use of thiopurine in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been associated with HLH, the majority of these patients will have a concurrent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Case Presentation: This report presents a case of HLH in a patient previously treated with aza-thioprine for IBD without concurrent viral infection.

Keywords: hemophagocytic lymphocytosis; inflammatory bowel disease; pancytopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Slide showing histiocytes displaying round contour with cytoplasmic projections which, combined with the other HLH-2004 criteria, give a diagnosis of HLH; (b) Activated histiocytes with expended cytoplasm and engulfed RBCs, lymphocytes, and PMN.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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