1/637. leukostasis followed by hemorrhage complicating the initiation of chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and hyperleukocytosis: a clinicopathologic report of four cases. BACKGROUND: Pulmonary and cerebral leukostasis, or parenchymal hemorrhage in these organs, are well-known early complications developing in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), particularly when myelomonocytic features, hyperleukocytosis, and/or a coagulation disorder are initially present. Commonly, these complications arise during increasing leukocyte counts (WBCs). methods: The authors describe four patients with AML and hyperleukocytosis who developed leukostasis followed by parenchymal hemorrhage. RESULTS: Bleeding in all patients occurred while their WBCs were decreasing following cytosine-arabinoside chemotherapy, and in the absence of disseminated intravascular coagulation or severe thrombocytopenia. Radiologic and histopathologic findings underscoring possible mechanisms are presented in the article. CONCLUSIONS: Alterations of cell adhesion associated with chemotherapy-induced blast lysis or cellular differentiation are possible factors contributing to this particular sequence (cytosine arabinoside-based chemotherapy, leukostasis, and subsequent hemorrhage). Prophylactic measures for managing this early complication of AML treatment include leukapheresis to reduce the WBC prior to the initiation of chemotherapy. ( info) |
2/637. Tyrosinemia type 1 should be suspected in infants with severe coagulopathy even in the absence of other signs of liver failure. Tyrosinemia type l is an inherited metabolic disorder attributable to deficiency of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase, a terminal enzyme in the degradation pathway of tyrosine. Affected individuals may present with any of a number of signs and symptoms, including failure to thrive, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, hepatomegaly, ascites, jaundice, renal fanconi syndrome, or conditions such as rickets and hepatocellular carcinoma.1 If untreated, the patient may die of acute liver failure before the second year of life, or from chronic liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma before the end of the second decade of life.2 Although overt liver failure with coagulopathy may be part of the presentation of tyrosinemia, a significant coagulopathy in the absence of overt signs of liver disease has not been emphasized as a clue to the diagnosis of this condition. We report two tyrosinemic infants who presented with severe coagulopathies and no other signs of liver failure to stress this diagnostic point. ( info) |
3/637. Bleeding from self-administration of phenindione: a detailed case study. A young woman presented with a 2 year history of a severe bleeding disorder and marked deficiencies in all four vitamin-K-dependent factors. Metabolic studies with tracer doses of tritium-labelled vitamin K1 suggested that the patient might be taking an oral anticoagulant; and subsequently her plasma was found to contain a substance identical to phenindione in its spectrophotometric and chromatographic properties. The half-disappearance times of factors II, IX, X were measured after the administration of a concentrate of these factors and were found to conform with published figures. The concentrate controlled the patient's excessive bruising and prolonged skin and gingival bleeding. It would therefore seem that factor vii may not be essential in reversal of the bleeding disorder induced by anticoagulant overdose. ( info) |
| Ataxia-telangiectasia is clinically characterized by the presence of cerebellar ataxia, choreoathetosis, and oculocutaneous telangiectasia. Humorocellular immune deficiency may be associated with the disease. So far, no coagulation abnormalities have been reported in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia. Presence of Hageman factor deficiency in our patient could merely be a coincidental occurrence of two rare independent disease states. Since this coagulation abnormality in Hageman factor deficiency is rather subtle and not usually associated with clinically significant bleeding, this defect can be easily overlooked. ( info) |
5/637. Fibrinogens Bern IV, Bern V and Milano XI: three dysfunctional variants with amino acid substitutions in the thrombin cleavage site of the Aalpha-chain. Thrombin-induced cleavage of fibrinopeptide a is the initial step in the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin. Three dysfunctional fibrinogen variants are described with an amino acid substitution at position 16 of the Aalpha-chain: the fibrinogen variants Bern IV and Milano XI having an Arg-->His substitution and the variant Bern V having an Arg-->Cys substitution. Routine coagulation studies revealed prolonged plasma thrombin and reptilase clotting times in all patients, and a discrepancy between the plasma levels of fibrinogen determined by the clotting assay and electroimmunoassay. The defect was localized by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of fibrinopeptide release and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of exon 2 of the Aalpha-chain. immunoblotting analysis with a rabbit antiserum against human serum albumin indicated that albumin was linked to the additional sulfhydryl group of fibrinogen Bern V. The assay of tissue-plasminogen-activator-induced plasmic degradation revealed that the fibrinolysis of fibrin Bern V was delayed, whereas fibrin Bern IV was digested in the same way as normal fibrin. ( info) |
6/637. Spontaneous dural sinus thrombosis in children. The clinical course of spontaneous dural sinus thrombosis in children varies from indolent to fulminant. Although many different etiologies for the development of dural sinus thrombosis have been described, a full recovery can be anticipated in most children following rehydration and the administration of systemic antibiotics. steroids, systemic anticoagulation and intrasinus thrombolysis may be beneficial in selected patients, although the efficacy of these therapies has not been established prospectively in children. We reviewed 12 pediatric patients with spontaneous dural sinus thrombosis (1978-1998) to determine the etiology, clinical course and best treatment options. In the absence of a hypercoagulable state, pediatric patients generally recover well with rehydration and antibiotics and do not require anticoagulation. ( info) |
7/637. Clinical and physiologic studies of two siblings with prekallikrein (Fletcher factor) deficiency. Two siblings with hereditary Fletcher factor (prekallikrein) deficiency were studied for alterations of fibrinolysis, platelet function, skin inflammatory responses, permeability factor (PF/dil) formation and leukocyte chemotaxis. In vivo stimulation of fibrinolytic activity was normal; the bleeding time and platelet functions (adhesivity, aggregation, release reaction) were also normal. Both immediate (wheal-flare reaction to histamine, bradykinin, prostaglandin E1, physical agents) and delayed sensitivity skin test reactions were within normal limits. Migration of subjects' leukocytes to attractants in skin windows and in Boyden-type chambers was the same as that of control leukocytes. Serum complement components were essentially normal. One subject's leukocytes showed normal tissue factor production on stimulation by endotoxin, although prekallikrein deficiency did impair the endotoxin-stimulated generation of serum procoagulant activity. PF/dil caused increased vessel permeability in human skin; in vitro generation of PF/dil required both the Hageman factor and prekallikrein. The Fletcher factor-deficient subjects responded in a normal manner to PF/dil. Based on the Fletcher factor-coagulation assay, the biologic half-disappearance time of prekallikrein (after the transfusion of normal plasma in one of the subjects) was estimated at 35 hours. Therefore, these studies suggest that severe prekallikrein (Fletcher factor) deficiency in man is not associated with any clinically significant impairment in hemostasis, fibrinolysis, inflammatory responses or leukocyte function. ( info) |
8/637. Effect of haemofiltration on pathological fibrinolysis due to severe sepsis: a case report. Bleeding due to coagulopathy is a frequent complication of severe sepsis, especially in burn patients. The primary treatment is aimed at the underlying cause but additional supportive measures, consisting mainly of coagulation factor replacement, are frequently necessary. We describe the salutary effect of continuous veno-venous haemofiltration (CVVH) with predilution on diffuse haemorrhage in a patient with severe septic shock and renal failure. The diffuse haemorrhage was initially treated with replacement of coagulation factors. prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time became normal while diffuse bleeding continued and the thrombelastogram showed evidence of fibrinolysis. A short period of CVVH lead to the cessation of bleeding which was reflected by a normal thrombelastogram. ( info) |
9/637. Systemic lupus erythematosus-associated catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome occurring after typhoid fever: a possible role of Salmonella lipopolysaccharide in the occurrence of diffuse vasculopathy-coagulopathy. We report a case of well-documented typhoid fever in a 30-year-old woman with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus with asymptomatic lupus anticoagulant and high-titer anticardiolipin antibody (aCL). Despite prompt eradication of the salmonella typhi obtained with appropriate antibiotic therapy, multiple organ system dysfunction occurred. The central nervous system was involved, with ischemic infarcts in the occipital lobes. High-dose corticosteroid therapy failed to improve the neurologic manifestations, which responded to repeated plasmapheresis. A sharp fall in aCL and anti-beta2-glycoprotein I antibody titers was recorded before the start of plasmapheresis. At the same time, IgM and IgG antibodies to Salmonella group O:9 lipopolysaccharide became detectable; the IgM antibodies disappeared within 4 months, whereas the IgG antibodies remained detectable during the next 13 months. Despite treatment with high-dose corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide, rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis developed, leading to chronic renal failure. There is convincing evidence of a link between the S. typhi infection and the ensuing catastrophic syndrome in this patient, probably precipitated by bacterial antigens. ( info) |
10/637. Anaemia, thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy due to occult diffuse infantile haemangiomatosis of spleen and pancreas. Diffuse infantile haemangiomatosis of the spleen is a very rare lesion. Large haemangiomas may cause trapping of platelets and coagulation disorders known as Kasabach-Merrit syndrome. We here report the case of an infant with splenic and pancreatic haemangiomatosis presenting with life-threatening thrombocytopenia, anaemia and intravascular coagulation. diagnosis was hampered by reactive erythroblastosis and non-conclusive radiological findings. While treatment with corticosteroids was ineffective, administration of antithrombin iii improved coagulation parameters. After splenectomy the child recovered promptly and has remained free of disease for 3 years to date. CONCLUSION: Occult visceral haemangiomatosis without visible cutaneous haemangiomas should be included in the differential diagnosis of thrombocytopenia, anaemia and consumption coagulopathy. antithrombin iii treatment may be considered to overcome bleeding problems in patients with Kasabach-Merrit syndrome. ( info) |