Leucostasis, an underestimated cause of death in leukaemia

Massive sludging of leukaemic cells in blood vessels is a frequent and often lethal complication of leukaemia. In a retrospective clinicopathological study on the causes of death in 52 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and myeloproliferative disease, pulmonary leucostasis was found in 40% of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Blut 1988, Vol.56 (1), p.39-44
Main Authors: VAN BUCHEM, M. A, TE VELDE, J, WILLEMZE, R, SPAANDER, P. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - pathology
Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases
Humans
Leukemia - complications
Leukemia - mortality
Leukemia - pathology
Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis
Leukocyte Count
Leukocytosis - complications
Leukocytosis - mortality
Leukocytosis - pathology
Lung - pathology
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
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Summary:Massive sludging of leukaemic cells in blood vessels is a frequent and often lethal complication of leukaemia. In a retrospective clinicopathological study on the causes of death in 52 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and myeloproliferative disease, pulmonary leucostasis was found in 40% of the patients. In many of these patients the vessels of the heart, brain and testes were also involved. In search for signs and symptoms specific for leucostasis, the clinical records of the 21 patients with leucostasis (the study group) were compared to those of 20 patients without leucostasis (the control group). Dysfunction of the organs most affected by leucostasis, namely lungs, heart and brain, was found more often in the study group than in the controls, but the combination of unexplained fever with cardiopulmonary and/or central nervous system failure occurred almost exclusively and in half of the patients with leucostasis. Leucostasis occurs predominantly, but not exclusively, in patients with high leucocyte counts, and especially, but again not exclusively, when the leucocyte counts rise sharply.
ISSN:0006-5242
1432-0584
DOI:10.1007/BF00321058