Report of Eight Infants With Acute Infantile Hemorrhagic Edema and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Acute infantile hemorrhagic edema (AIHE) is a cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis, clinically characterized by the symptom triad of fever, large purpuric skin lesions, and edema. The clinical picture has a violent onset, a short benign course, and spontaneous complete recovery. In this article, we present eight patients who were admitted with rashes on the skin and edema on the eyelids and extremities, and were diagnosed with AIHE according to their clinical and histopathological features (immunohistological study was also performed in three of them). Our purpose was to emphasize that, aside from Henoch-Schonlein purpura, meningococcemia, septicemia, and purpura fulminans, AIHE benign disorder should also he considered in the differential diagnosis to determine the clinical course and treatment protocol in patients with purpuric rashes.