The clinical spectrum of Henoch–Schönlein purpura in children: a single-center study

Objectives Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP) is the most common vasculitis of children. The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic and clinic findings of patients with HSP and also to determine predictive factors for assessing the development of gastrointestinal system (GIS) and renal involvement. Methods This study was performed prospectively among children with HSP who are under 18 years of age and being followed-up in the Pediatric Rheumatology Unit of Health Sciences University Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital between January 2016 and January 2018. Results A total of 265 patients, 137 boys (51.7%) and 128 girls (48.3%), were involved to the study. The mean ± standard deviation of age at the diagnosis was 7.5 ± 3.2. The most common disease onset season was spring (31.7%). The rate of arthritis, GIS involvement, and renal involvement were 54%, 51.3%, and 29.1%, respectively. GIS bleeding was more frequent in males than females ( p = 0.007). Boys over 7 years of age had significantly more common GIS bleeding ( p = 0.04). Intussusception, relapse, and serious GIS involvement requiring hospitalization and steroid treatment were highly associated with severe renal involvement. Conclusions We demonstrated that patients suffering intussusception, relapse, and serious GIS involvement or requiring hospitalization and steroid treatment had tendency to present with severe renal involvement. Therefore, these patients should be followed up carefully for not overlooking renal involvement of HSP.