Physical problems among leukemic adolescent patients undergoing chemotherapy in Erbil city

Leukemia is a significant public health and life-threatening problem for pediatric cancer patients. Adolescents leukemic may face long periods of treatment; may describe the irritability, fatigue, bone pain, mouth ulcer, alopecia, and loss of appetite. The aim of the study was to assess the common physical problems among leukemic adolescent patients undergoing chemotherapy, and identify the association between their socio-demographic characteristics with physical problem. A descriptive study was carried out in Nanakali Hospital for Blood Diseases / Erbil city from the period of /1[st] Nov. /2010 to/ 1[st] of Feb. /2011/. Eighty adolescent who are receiving chemotherapy in face to face interview, were selected regarding the study. The study shows that there were highly significant associations between socio-demographic characteristics with some of physical problems such as pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, and oral ulcer [mucositis]. The study shows that there were significant association between adolescent patient and some physical problems. The study recommends giving more support and attention by medical and nursing staff manage to reduce their physical problems

Nutritional assessment and serum zinc and cooper concentration in leukemic children

Context: Malnutrition in childhood cancer is commonly a serious problem. Changes in blood zinc and copper have also been found in malignant diseases. Objective: To describe the protein-energy nutritional status and serum zinc and copper of children with newly diagnosed leukemia. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University referral center. Participants: 23 children with newly diagnosed acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) or acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) between the ages of 1 and 10 years. The control subjects were 31 healthy school children of similar age from local schools. Main measures: Anthropometric measurements of height/age and weight/height, food intake and serum levels of zinc and copper. Results: Almost the entire group of children were eutrophic. Zinc and copper intake were below the recommended values. Serum zinc levels were significantly lower and serum copper levels were significantly higher in the leukemic group when compared to normal children. Conclusion: At the time of diagnosis the children suffering from leukemia were not overtly malnourished but blood analysis showed alterations in concentrations of the trace elements zinc and copper.

Tres casos de necrosis de médula ósea en leucemia aguda / Three cases of bone marrow necrosis in acute leukemia

La necrosis de la médula ósea (NMO) es rara: frecuentemente es un hallazgo post-mórtem que ocurre en pacientes afectados por neoplasias hematológicas, en especial leucemia aguda. Descubrimos aquí NMO en dos pacientes con leucemia aguda mielobástica (LAM) y uno con leucemia aguda linfoblástica (LAL), en quienes se realizó el diagnóstico de NMO en vida. Dos pacientes fallecieron por hemorragia intracraneal; el paciente con diagnóstico de LMA M5 desarrolló NMO una semana después de recibir el segundo ciclo de quimioterapia: su recuperación fue total y está en remisión completa después de casi cinco años del diagnóstico. El diagnóstico de NMO puede ser difícil por lo que se requiere sospecharla para establecer un diagnóstico temprano y brindar tratamiento de apoyo, ya que no necesariamente se asocia a un resultado fatal

Alteraciones cromosómicas en un paciente con leucemia aguda no linfoblástica / Chromosome aberrations in a patient with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia

Se describe a un paciente de 15 años que fué hospitalizado en el Instituto Nacional de Pediatría (INP) por presentar un cuadro clínico sugestivo de un padecimiento mieloproliferativo. Los estudios de médula ósea y sangre periférica no fueron confirmativos, pero el paciente evolucionó hacia sangrados masivos, daño neurológico, falleciendo al noveno día de internamiento. El estudio cromosómico en médula ósea reveló alteraciones complejas que comprometían a los cromosomas 1, 9, 7 y 17 y que sugerían una leucemia aguda no linfoblástica con mal pronóstico. El estudio postmortem corroboró la invasión a múltiples órganos de células inmaduras de la serie blanca, sugestiva de leucemia aguda de la serie mieloide.