Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood Presenting with Reticulocytosis and Erythroid Hyperplasia in the Bone Marrow

Abstract

Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood (TEC) is a benign condition, occasionally preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection, affecting infants and children between 1 month and 6 years of age. At presentation, it is characterized by anemia, which may be quite severe, reticulocytopenia, and absent or markedly decreased erythroid precursors in the bone marrow. Spontaneous resolution occurs in two to eight weeks without therapy. With the exception of pallor, there are no abnormal physical findings.1-3 It has recently been demonstrated that serum and IgG specimens obtained at the time of diagnosis in four patients with TEC uniformly suppressed erythroid colony development from CFU-E whereas one patient had a serum inhibitor of erythropoiesis; thus, a transient immune suppression phenomenon is implicated as a possible factor in the development of anemia.4