Steroid-unresponsive hypereosinophilic syndrome

Abstract

Hypereosinophilic syndrome in children is rare and is characterised by sustained over-production of eosinophils. An 11-year-old boy was diagnosed with hypereosinophilic syndrome as per standard criteria. He was treated initially with intravenous methylprednisolone, followed by oral prednisolone, to which he showed a limited response. The highest absolute eosinophil count was 27·0×10⁹/L. He was commenced on imatinib mesylate but, because of no response, he was switched to hydroxyurea combined with low-dose prednisolone to which he showed improvement with decreasing levels of eosinophils.

Keywords:

• Hypereosinophilic syndrome
• eosinophilia
• FIP1L1-PDGFRA