What should I do if my child has aplastic anemia?

It may be due to improper diet, the impact of environmental pollution, or the child being too tired. Nowadays, more and more children are suffering from aplastic anemia, and the treatment of this disease is still relatively difficult. However, if the disease can be detected early and treated in the early stages, the results will often be much better. How should children be treated for aplastic anemia?

First, treat the infection

Patients with aplastic anemia who have fever require immediate hospitalization and should be treated according to the treatment principles for neutropenia and fever. Febrile patients should have a lung and sinus examination, including x-rays and CT scans. People with lung and sinus infections often have fungal infections. It is generally recommended to use antibiotics in combination, such as β-lactam antibiotics + aminoglycosides. After the culture results are available, targeted antibiotics can be selected based on the drug sensitivity.

Second, supportive therapy

Blood transfusion should be aimed at improving the patient's anemia symptoms and relieving hypoxia. There is no need to correct the hemoglobin level to normal values. It is usually transfused when Hb is <60g/L, or when accompanied by intolerable anemia symptoms. Red blood cell transfusion should be given as much as possible. It can be considered when there are no red blood cells in the whole blood. The specific amount depends on the condition. Even if the white blood cell and/or platelet count of aplastic anemia patients is reduced, their anemia should be transfused with concentrated red blood cells rather than whole blood. For patients at risk of heart failure, the infusion rate should be controlled, and 1 unit of red blood cells should be given every 2 to 4 hours. Diuretics can be given appropriately. Patients who are planning to undergo allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation should receive irradiated red blood cells and platelets.

Third, other protection measures

Patients with aplastic anemia may develop bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Patients with severe aplastic anemia may develop fatal Aspergillus infection due to severe and prolonged neutropenia. For those with neutrophil count <0.2×109/L, antibiotics and antifungal drugs should be used prophylactically, and attention should be paid to diet to avoid bacterial and fungal contamination. For patients with neutrophil count (0.2-0.5)×109/L, preventive medication is needed. The pros and cons are difficult to determine and depend on the patient's previous infection history.

When a child suffers from aplastic anemia, it is important to take him to a regular hospital for treatment in a timely manner so that the child's condition can improve faster. During the treatment, it is also important to let the patient get more rest, avoid strenuous activities, prevent the child from overworking, and reduce damage to the bone marrow from external factors.