Acute Lympoblastic Leukaemia in seventy Iraqi adults: clinical and haematological findings and outcome of therapy.

Studies on acute Leukaemia from developing and Asian countries are scarce, and generally reflect poorer outcomes of therapy compared to their Western counterparts. This study was undertaken to address the latter issue in Iraqi adults with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). It included seventy unselected Iraqi adults (aged 14-60years), diagnosed as ALL in Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, during the period between May 1991 and June 1994. The clinical and haematological findings in the included patients were generally comparable with those reported from the West, except for the lower median age. The patients were scheduled to receive a modified intensive chemotherapy protocol, and had an overall complete remission rate of 84.3%, and all overall median survival of 24 months. Nineteen patients were still alive in complete remission after a median follow-up of 67 months, and the estimated five year disease free survival was 27.2%. The above finding compare favourably with Western studies and are among the more favourable reports from Asian countries. The study also includes a discussion of the problems facing haematologists in the management of ALL in this part of the world.

Acute haemolytic episodes & fava bean consumption in G6PD deficient Iraqis.

The relation between fava bean ingestion and the occurrence of a haemolytic episode was studied in 102 glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenate (G6PD) deficient Iraqi patients. None of the patients (mean age 12.8 yr) had a documented similar illness earlier, although all of them gave history of reported regular fava bean ingestion in the past. Further, none of the three patients who were rechallenged (2-3 months later) by the beans developed any clinical or laboratory evidence of haemolysis. The incidence of the haemolytic episodes was found to peak in April, while the fava bean season extends from February to June. This study thus does not support a causal relation between the bean ingestion and the haemolytic episodes in G6PD deficient Iraqis. Possibly, some other factor such as a viral infection may be involved.