Mycophenolate Mofetil in Gastrointestinal Henoch-Schonlein Purpura

Henoch Schönlein purpura (HSP) is the most common type of vasculitis in children, with an incidence of \~10/100,000, whereas \>90% of the patients develop symptoms at \<10 years of age. Although HSP is generally a self-limiting disease, it may also lead to severe complications, such as intestinal intussusception, infarction and perforation, as well as end-stage renal disease. The management of HSP includes symptomatic treatment and immunosuppressive therapy in certain patients. Previous retrospective studies have reported that most patients with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms may benefit from early usage of glucocorticoid, whereas there are still a part of HSP patients with GI did not achieved remission after administering of steroid. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical features of refractory GI HSP and the clinical outcome of mycophenolate mofetil in these patients.