TRANSIENT ERYTHROBLASTOPENIA IN YOUNG-CHI LDREN

Background. - Transient erythroblastopenia is rare in young children a lthough its frequency is increasing. Population and results. - Six inf ants (four boys, two girls), aged 29-41 months (mean: 33) were admitte d for palor and asthenia. Only one displayed infectious episode two mo nths earlier. Hemoglobin ranged from 40 to 67 g/l and reticulocyte num ber from 1 to 10 G/l. Mean corpuscular volume was normal as was Coombs ' test. There was a profound erythroblastopenia in the bone marrow in five of the six patients. Parvovirus B19 infection was excluded in all . The white cell and platelet counts were normal. All patients were gi ven an unique blood transfusion. Reticulocytosis spontaneously appeare d within a few weeks in three patients. Another patient had normal num ber of erythroid precursors in the bone marrow 1 month after admission . Conclusion. - Diagnosis of transient erythroblastopenia can only be made after exclusion of known causes such as drugs, virus, immune defi ciency, leukemia and of Blackfan-Diamond disease. Its persistence must lead to search for another cause.