反复肺部感染及口腔黏膜溃疡

Recurrent pulmonary infection and oral mucosal ulcer

8岁女性患儿,因间断咳嗽、发热3年余,再发1月余入院。近1年反复出现口腔黏膜溃疡。体格检查发现右上背部皮肤色素脱失。外院多次查血常规和免疫功能正常。多次肺部CT提示肺部感染病灶,经抗感染治疗,发热咳嗽仍反复,右肺部病变持续存在,抗结核治疗无效。多次血常规检查发现粒细胞缺乏,行基因检测,确定为RTEL1基因纯合突变所致先天性角化不良(DC)。RTEL1基因突变的先天性角化不良患者易出现肺部并发症。由于RTEL1基因序列有高度可变性,突变位点很多,突变方式多样,且可以通过常染色体显性或隐性遗传方式遗传,因此其临床表现多样,易致漏诊及误诊。对不明原因反复肺部感染的患儿,应注意口腔、皮肤和指趾甲的检查并监测血常规以排除DC。DC目前无特效治疗,出现骨髓衰竭和肺功能衰竭时,造血干细胞移植和肺移植是目前唯一的治疗方法,雄激素及其衍生物对部分病人有效,针对端粒途径的靶向药物有望给DC患者带来希望。

An 8-year-old girl who had experienced intermittent cough and fever over a 3 year period, was admitted after experiencing a recurrence for one month. One year ago the patient experienced a recurrent oral mucosal ulcer. Physical examination showed vitiligo in the skin of the upper right back. Routine blood tests and immune function tests performed in other hospitals had shown normal results. Multiple lung CT scans showed pulmonary infection. The patient had recurrent fever and cough and persistent presence of some lesions after anti-infective therapy. The antitubercular therapy was ineffective. Routine blood tests after admission showed agranulocytosis. Gene detection was performed and she was diagnosed with dyskeratosis congenita caused by homozygous mutation in RTEL1. Patients with dyskeratosis congenita with RTEL1 gene mutation tend to develop pulmonary complications. Since RTEL1 gene sequence is highly variable with many mutation sites and patterns and can be inherited via autosomal dominant or recessive inheritance, this disease often has various clinical manifestations, which may lead to missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. For children with unexplained recurrent pulmonary infection, examinations of the oral cavity, skin, and nails and toes should be taken and routine blood tests should be performed to exclude dyskeratosis congenita. There are no specific therapies for dyskeratosis congenita at present, and when bone marrow failure and pulmonary failure occur, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and lung transplantation are the only therapies. Androgen and its derivatives are effective in some patients. Drugs targeting the telomere may be promising for patients with dyskeratosis congenita.