Infect Chemother.  2006 Oct;38(5):266-270.

Tuberculous Lymphadenitis in Patients with Myelogenous Leukemia

• Lee CS
• Song JS
• Choe PG
• Cho JH
• Bang JW
• Park KH
• Park WB
• Kim HB
• Kim NJ
• Yoon SS
• Park S
• Kim BK
• Oh MD
• Choe KW

Abstract

During the neutropenic phase, leukemia patients receiving chemotherapy are prone to bacterial and, fungal infections; occasionally mycobacterial, viral and protozoal organisms may also cause infections. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection was reported very rarely in these patients. This report describes four patients with M. tuberculosis infection identified from 185 adult patients who were diagnosed myelogenous leukemia between January 2003, and December 2004. There was no patient with M. tuberculosis infection from 44 lymphoid leukemia and 11 acute biphenotypic leukemia patients. Sites of infection were all lymph nodes. Three among four patients were presented with lymphadenopathy at initial diagnosis of leukemia, and the other one presented with lymphadenopathy after induction chemotherapy. There was no patient presented with lymphadenopathy during the neutropenic phase. Tuberculous lymphadenitis was presented in a patient with three acute myelogenous leukemia (FAB class 2 M4, 1 M2) and a chronic myelogenous leukemia, accelerated phase. An acute myelogenous leukemia patient had a leukemic cell and tubercle bacilli in the same lymph node. Tuberculosis should also be included as a differential diagnosis in myelogenous leukemia patient with lymphadenopathy, especially in the countries in which the disease is endemic.

Keyword

Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Acute myelogenous leukemia; Lymphadenopathy

MeSH Terms

Adult
Diagnosis
Diagnosis, Differential
Drug Therapy
Humans
Induction Chemotherapy
Leukemia
Leukemia, Biphenotypic, Acute
Leukemia, Lymphoid
Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive
Leukemia, Myeloid*
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute
Lymph Nodes
Lymphatic Diseases
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, Lymph Node*