On Feb 24, 2022, Russian military forces began a coordinated invasion of Ukraine. Russian assaults resulted in widespread damage to densely populated residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure, including power stations, transportation hubs, schools, and health care facilities. As a result, more than 10 million refugees have fled Ukraine, approximately 50% fleeing to Poland. Attacks on Ukraine's health system and pharmaceutical supply chains created challenges for the provision of critical services for people with injuries and chronic illnesses. Among the most vulnerable patients are children with cancer and blood disorders, who require timely access to diagnostic, therapeutic, and supportive care for survival. The war has resulted in acute interruption of medical care, threatening the lives of thousands of Ukrainian children.
The measles epidemic was observed in Ukraine during 20172019. According to WHO, in Ukraine there was registered the highest number of measles cases in Europe during that period [8]. Measles is characterized by an acute course with fever, maculopapular rash, cough, conjunctivitis and can lead to central nervous system complications (encephalitis, encephalomyelitis) and bronchopulmonary system complications (laryngotracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia). In immunocompetent patients, viremia ends after the end of clinical signs, in contrast to immunosuppressed individuals, who could develop viremia from one month up to a year. We have described a case of measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE) or subacute measles encephalitis (SME) in an unvaccinated child with an acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The diagnosis was confirmed by the synthesis of IgG antibodies to the measles virus in the cerebrospinal fluid and by the MRI results. The disease had a dramatic course and ended in death.
Introduction: As more data is collected, hematologists will be able to gain more insight into the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pediatric patients with hematological malignancies. Material and methods: We analysed 21 cases of COVID-19 in pediatric patients with onco-hematological diseases treated in the Western Ukrainian Pediatric Medical Center from March 2020 through May 2021. The majority of patients (71.4%) were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. All patients from the analyzed cohort had an asymptomatic, mild or moderate course of coronavirus-19 infection. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 were fever, cough, gastrointestinal symptoms, and dermatitis. Severe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 increased the risk of liver toxicity and venous thrombosis.
Results and conclusion: Our analysis showed that pediatric patients with hematological malignancies need the same treatment approach for COVID-19 as for other infective complications.