Premium
Spontaneous remission of acute monocytic leukemia after infection with Clostridium septicum
Author(s) -
ALTAWFIQ J. A.,
ALKHATTI A. A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of laboratory hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.705
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1751-553X
pISSN - 1751-5521
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2257.2006.00846.x
Subject(s) - medicine , spontaneous remission , clostridium septicum , complete remission , leukemia , vomiting , myeloid leukemia , bacteremia , surgery , gastroenterology , bone marrow , abdominal pain , antibiotics , chemotherapy , pathology , alternative medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Summary Spontaneous remissions of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have been reported in association with infection. Here, we report a case of spontaneous remission of AML in a 47‐year‐old Saudi Arabian male patient who presented with a few weeks history of recurrent abdominal pain, vomiting and fever. He was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia (AML, FAB M5b) and a perforated bowel. He also had Clostridium septicum bacteremia and thus chemotherapy was deferred. He received supportive therapy and intravenous antibiotics. Six weeks later, he achieved spontaneous and complete remission lasting for about 4 months. The remission and relapse were documented by bone marrow examination. Similarly, previous reports of spontaneous remission of AML were short lived and were followed by relapse and progression.