Massive plasmocytosis due to methimazole-induced bone marrow toxicity.

Pancytopenia is a rare complication of the thionamide therapy reported secondary to aplastic anemia, the bone marrow being invariably hypocellular. We present a case of a 16-year-old female with Graves' disease who presented with massive bone marrow plasmocytosis mimicking multiple myeloma. The patient had already been on methimazole for a month when she was admitted to the Pediatric Unit with the diagnosis of sepsis. CBC revealed pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspirations showed hypocellular-normocellular bone marrow, 98% of plasma cells. At that time, MMI was discontinued and the patient was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics, dexamethasone, and G-CSF. Bone marrow aspiration day +4 still showed hypo-normocellular marrow, with remaining 6% plasma cells. Myeloma screen was negative; ANC >1,000 at day +7, platelets >50,000 at day +24. Twenty-four months after patient's discharge, her clinical condition, CBC, and bone marrow remained normal. To our knowledge this is the first report of pancytopenia due to MMI, where the usual hypoplasia found is replaced by massive plasmocytosis.

Translocation t(8;22) and monosomy 7 in a case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia expressing myeloid markers.

The simultaneous coexpression of lymphoid and myeloid markers has been observed in some cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL). In this paper, we describe a 6-year-old male patient with an ALL expressing myeloid antigens in whom a novel karyotypic association, t(8;22) and monosomy 7, and high Ag-NOR activity were found concomitantly with a very short survival.

[Myelodysplastic syndrome: experience of the Study and Treatment of Bone Marrow Failure Group]. / Sindromes mielodisplásticos: experiencia del Grupo de Estudio y Tratamiento de las Insuficiencias Medulares (GETIM).

Myelodysplastic syndromes (SMD) were studied in 58 patients (37 men, 21 women; mean age 61 years, range 18-81) who were grouped according to FAB criteria (Table 1). None of them showed a secondary SMD to medullary toxic agents or cytostatic treatments although 5 presented concomitant neoplastic disease. Morphologic alterations in peripheral blood smears and bone marrow were registered by 3 hematologists working independently. The intracellular and extracellular iron deposits were evaluated in every case with Perls; peroxidase activity was determined in 16 patients and intraleucocitary alkaline phosphatase reaction was carried out in 17 patients. Twenty five patients (43%) had refractory anemia (RA); 10 (17%) sideroblastic anemia; 13 (25%) refractory anemia with excess of blasts (AREB); 3 (5%) AREB in transformation (AREB-T) and 7 myelomonocytic leukemia (LMMC). Clinical manifestations at diagnosis are described in Table 2. In the observation period there were cases of anemia requiring transfusion, bacterial infections, muco-cutaneous hemorrhage and hemorrhagic episodes in the central nervous system. In the bone marrow smears the cellularity was normal or increased in 53 cases and diminished in only 3. The degree of dysplastic characteristics (erythroid, granulocytic and megakaryocytic) ranged from low to severe. It was low in most of AR, being the erythroid population the most affected in AS and the granulocytic one in AREB and AREB-T. Patients with LMMC showed similar characteristics to those with myeloproliferative syndromes and the differential diagnosis were sometimes difficult, accounting for their separate inclusion in Table 4. Out of 23 patients, 5 presented clonal pathology detected in cytogenetic studies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Heteroimmune hemolytic anemia associated with antilymphocyte globulin treatment in a patient with aplastic anemia]. / Anemia hemolítica heteroinmune asociada a tratamiento con globulina antilinfocítica en un paciente con anemia aplástica.

A 24-year-old male patient with a severe aplastic anemia (SAA) was treated with equine-antilymphocyte globulin (ALG). As complication of this treatment he developed a severe heteroimmune hemolytic anemia mediated by anti-species pan-agglutinin antibodies present in ALG. In spite of the fact that ALG is absorbed with red-cell stroma and platelets to remove anti-erythrocyte and anti-platelet contaminating antibodies, often only partial absorption is achieved, and the remaining antibodies are passively acquired by the recipient. Neutropenia and especially thrombocytopenia are usual complications of this treatment, but it is also possible to detect anti-erythrocyte antibodies in the serum and on the red cells of those patients. However, the unusual severity of the hemolysis suffered by our patient, with a striking decrease of the hemoglobin levels (Fig. 1) can be ascribed to the administration of ALG at a time at which the hematocrit was close to normal as a result of the previous administration of anabolics. It is likely that in severely anemic patients, with a high transfusional demand, such a hemolytic episode may remain undetected. The patient acquired reactivity to the direct antiglobulin test, as well as the positive results of investigation of unexpected antibodies and compatibility testing can be accounted for by the fact that commercial antihuman globulin serum (AGS) contains antibodies reacting with a globulin component shared by human and horse sera. Neutralization of AGS with ALG administered to the patient removed those cross-reacting antibodies, making it possible to perform reliable transfusion compatibility testing and to rule out the eventual presence of hidden alloantibodies or warm autoantibodies. Neutralized Coombs serum maintained its human antiglobulin properties unaltered (Table 1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Management of a severe transfusional problem in a patient with alloantibody to Kpb (K4).

The case of a 58-year-old male with severe anemia after hemicolectomy is described. The patient proved to be Kp(b-), and the serum contained anti-Kpb. Because no Kp(b-) donors were available, two incompatible units are administered after intravenous gammaglobulin (400 mg/kg/day) and hydrocortisone (500 mg). The tolerance was good, without signs of increased red cell destruction. Pending the arrival of compatible blood from the American Red Cross, the hematocrit reached 18%, and the direct antiglobulin test remained negative.

Sindromes mielodisplásticos: experiencia del Grupo de Estudio y Tratamiento de las Insuficiencias Medulares (GETIM). / [Myelodysplastic syndrome: experience of the Study and Treatment of Bone Marrow Failure Group]

Myelodysplastic syndromes (SMD) were studied in 58 patients (37 men, 21 women; mean age 61 years, range 18-81) who were grouped according to FAB criteria (Table 1). None of them showed a secondary SMD to medullary toxic agents or cytostatic treatments although 5 presented concomitant neoplastic disease. Morphologic alterations in peripheral blood smears and bone marrow were registered by 3 hematologists working independently. The intracellular and extracellular iron deposits were evaluated in every case with Perls; peroxidase activity was determined in 16 patients and intraleucocitary alkaline phosphatase reaction was carried out in 17 patients. Twenty five patients (43

) had refractory anemia (RA); 10 (17

) sideroblastic anemia; 13 (25

) refractory anemia with excess of blasts (AREB); 3 (5

) AREB in transformation (AREB-T) and 7 myelomonocytic leukemia (LMMC). Clinical manifestations at diagnosis are described in Table 2. In the observation period there were cases of anemia requiring transfusion, bacterial infections, muco-cutaneous hemorrhage and hemorrhagic episodes in the central nervous system. In the bone marrow smears the cellularity was normal or increased in 53 cases and diminished in only 3. The degree of dysplastic characteristics (erythroid, granulocytic and megakaryocytic) ranged from low to severe. It was low in most of AR, being the erythroid population the most affected in AS and the granulocytic one in AREB and AREB-T. Patients with LMMC showed similar characteristics to those with myeloproliferative syndromes and the differential diagnosis were sometimes difficult, accounting for their separate inclusion in Table 4. Out of 23 patients, 5 presented clonal pathology detected in cytogenetic studies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anemia hemolítica heteroinmune asociada a tratamiento con globulina antilinfocítica en un paciente con anemia aplástica. / [Heteroimmune hemolytic anemia associated with antilymphocyte globulin treatment in a patient with aplastic anemia]

A 24-year-old male patient with a severe aplastic anemia (SAA) was treated with equine-antilymphocyte globulin (ALG). As complication of this treatment he developed a severe heteroimmune hemolytic anemia mediated by anti-species pan-agglutinin antibodies present in ALG. In spite of the fact that ALG is absorbed with red-cell stroma and platelets to remove anti-erythrocyte and anti-platelet contaminating antibodies, often only partial absorption is achieved, and the remaining antibodies are passively acquired by the recipient. Neutropenia and especially thrombocytopenia are usual complications of this treatment, but it is also possible to detect anti-erythrocyte antibodies in the serum and on the red cells of those patients. However, the unusual severity of the hemolysis suffered by our patient, with a striking decrease of the hemoglobin levels (Fig. 1) can be ascribed to the administration of ALG at a time at which the hematocrit was close to normal as a result of the previous administration of anabolics. It is likely that in severely anemic patients, with a high transfusional demand, such a hemolytic episode may remain undetected. The patient acquired reactivity to the direct antiglobulin test, as well as the positive results of investigation of unexpected antibodies and compatibility testing can be accounted for by the fact that commercial antihuman globulin serum (AGS) contains antibodies reacting with a globulin component shared by human and horse sera. Neutralization of AGS with ALG administered to the patient removed those cross-reacting antibodies, making it possible to perform reliable transfusion compatibility testing and to rule out the eventual presence of hidden alloantibodies or warm autoantibodies. Neutralized Coombs serum maintained its human antiglobulin properties unaltered (Table 1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)