Mortality in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia

Objective: To analyse the common causes of death in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia cases at a tertiary care facility. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at the Paediatric Oncology Department of the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and comprised newly-registered cases of acute myeloid leukaemia aged <18 years from January 1, 2012, onwards and who completed their treatment before January 31, 2019. Data was retrieved from medical records and was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 206 cases, 130(63.1%) were males and 76(36.9%) were females. Overall mean age at diagnosis was 5.96±3.57 years (range: 9 months to 15 years). Of the total, 6(2.9%) patients died before the start of treatment. Of the remaining, 43(21.5%) patients died during 1st induction chemotherapy, and 16(8%) during the post-induction period, with overall treatment-related mortality being 65(31.5%). The main cause of death during the first two weeks of induction was infection, while infection followed by multi-organ failure was the main cause of mortality in the second phase. A total of 130(63%) patients completed the treatment. Overall survival was 81(62.3%) while disease-free survival was 77 (59.2%). Conclusions: Overall treatment-related mortality rate in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia cases was found to be high. Key Words: Paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia, Mortality, Infection, Bleeding, Pakistan. Continuous...