title: Managing passively acquired autoimmune neonatal neutropenia: a case study.
abstract: Pregnant women with autoimmune neutropenia (AIN) and circulating neutrophil-specific autoantibodies can deliver neutropenic neonates at risk of sepsis. We report the case of a woman who had two such pregnancies. The woman had been on prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) treatment, but this was ceased prior to conception in both pregnancies. In the first pregnancy, there was no monitoring or interventions, and the neonate was neutropenic and required intensive care treatment. In the second pregnancy, the maternal neutrophil autoantibody level was monitored, and G-CSF treatment was introduced in the third trimester. The second infant had no neutropenia at delivery and an excellent Apgar score. We discuss the management strategy in the second pregnancy that included monitoring of serial titres of the maternal autoantibody and the introduction of G-CSF in the third trimester, which may have contributed to a more favourable clinical outcome. This may assist other clinicians faced with similar dilemmas in the future.
authors.affiliation: The Innovation Laboratory, Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Brisbane, Australia. lfung@arcbs.redcross.org.au
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pitcher
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Minchinton
mesh_terms: D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic / Q000097:blood; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000276:immunology; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000097:blood; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor