TITLE:
Rare Case of Surviving Infant with Strawberry Yoghurt like Blood Diagnosed to Be Infantile Hypertriglyceridemia at 1 Month Old: A Case Report
AUTHORS:
Matei Mselle, Aisa Shayo, Ronald Mbwasi, Faith Mosha, Jeremia Pyuza, Philip Mrindoko, Nyemo Peter, Elton Meleki, Elise Kimambo, Arnold Likiliwike, Lucy Frisch, Magreth Swai, Zaituni Hatibu, Ally Iman, Beatrice Maringo, Linda Kissila, Ikupa Minga, Deborah Mchaile
KEYWORDS:
Strawberry Yoghurt Like Blood, Hypertriglyceridemia, Tanzania
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.11 No.4,
December
15,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Hypertriglyceridemia in children means increased
plasma fasting Triglyceride levels above the 95th percentile for age
and sex. For children aged 0 to 9 years, a triglyceride level greater than or
equal to 100 mg/dl is considered above the 95th percentile.
Hypertriglyceridemia can be mild to borderline high, moderate to high, very
high, severe and very severe (>2000 mg/dl). We
present the case of a 1 month and 3 weeks old
baby who presented with difficulty in breathing. It was accidentally
found to have strawberry yoghurt like blood during phlebotomy, of which upon
investigation had very high triglyceride levels of >2000 mg/dl. Case Presentation: 1 month and 3 weeks old female baby, admitted as referral from
nearby health centre presenting with difficulty in breath, her blood sample was
incidentally found to appear as strawberry yoghurt like. Clinically the infant
had features suggestive of respiratory distress, with no other systemic
abnormalities noted. Chest X-ray that was done had features of pneumonia. The
working diagnosis on admission was Pneumonia, Electrolyte imbalance. The
strawberry yoghurt like blood raised suspicions of hypertriglyceridemia. Our
triglyceride levels in the infant were very high at 136 mmol/l (12,046 mg/dl). The patient was treated with IV antibiotics for pneumonia, electrolytes
were corrected and Rosuvastatin was started. This patient improved remarkably
and was discharged with Rosuvastatin. Lipid profile was followed up for 4
consecutive months in our outpatient clinic with a drastic drop in triglyceride
and cholesterol. Conclusion: We
report a case of infantile hypertriglyceridemia found accidentally
during phlebotomy. Despite limited resource to evaluate further on primary
cause of this condition as well as family’s poor economic status to seek
further medical evaluation outside the country, this case report raises
awareness on how to deal with this condition in a low resource setting. It also
highlights the role of statins in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia.