A CASE OF SUBACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA COMPLICATED WITH LEPROSY

Abstract

A report was made on the clinical and autopsy findings of a case of subacute mveloid leukemia developed in a neural type female leprosy patient aged 27 years. The patient showed characteri-stic symptoms of repeated periodical pyrexia, hepatic swelling and metorrhagia developing leukemia in the end. Internal factors like the hereditary disposition and endocrinological disorders (ovary, adrenal) are considered responsible as causes for the present leukemia. As for hematological findings, the patient was under observation as early as from the time of the development of leucopenia with a small number of young cells followed by the restoration of the leucocyte count and gradual increase in the number of young cells. And by the end of 5 months, there was leucocytosis with the remarkable increase in number of young cells. Leucocytes were irregular in size with abnormal forms of nuclei. An extremely large number of immature young cells appeared in the peripheral blood and bone-marrow cytologically corresponding to the findings of acute leukemia. Morphologically, these abnormal cells were identified as myeloid cells. The patient died of leukemia 6 months after the appearance of fever for the first time.