Childhood Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm Mimicking Acute Rheumatic Fever: Report of an Unusual Clinical Presentation and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is very rarely diagnosed in children with less than 50 cases in the literature.

OBSERVATION: We report a case of childhood BPDCN who mimicked acute rheumatic fever at presentation. Majority of the reported childhood BPDCN received acute lymphoblastic leukemia-like chemotherapy with/without stem cell therapy, whereas those who received acute myeloid leukemia-like therapy predominantly succumbed to disease or sepsis. Overall 68% of the patients were alive and achieved complete remission with an overall prognosis slightly better in children compared with adults.

CONCLUSIONS: The case is reported due to its unique unusual clinical presentation and its rarity in pediatric population.