THE CLINICAL SPECTRUM OF HENOCH-SCHONLEIN PURPURA IN INFANTS AND YOUNG-CHILDREN

Henoch-Schonlein purpura is a common cause of childhood vasculitis. The rarity of the disease under 2 years of age has been the subject of few reports, We present the clinical spectrum of Henoch-Schonlein purpura in 12 children younger than 2 years of age at presentation. The median age at presentation was 11 months. The purpuric skin rash was present in all patients and involved the face in 10 of them. While oedema was a prominent feature in all of our patients only one third had involvement of the kidneys, gastro-intestinal tract or joints. All patients recovered completely after a mean duration of follow up of 10.6 months (range 2-39 months).