Arthritis as presenting manifestation of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children

Abstract

published as a part of Pediatric Rheumatology Society Congress 2014.

Specific and Non-specific Clinical Presentations in the Year Before the Diagnosis of Childhood Leukaemia

“…The timing of various presentations may be related to the burden of leukemic cells: the leukaemia burden at an early stage of leukaemia is small and may only affect the haematological system or surrounding osteoarticular tissues. Previous studies, primarily case‐only reports, have also suggested haematological and musculoskeletal presentations as signs of leukaemia and to our knowledge our report is the first to quantify these associations. Additionally, we demonstrated the timing of these and other less specific presentations, including respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary tract presentations, and injuries.…”

“…corresponding numbers are listed in Supplementary Appendix I (pp. [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Among the six general presentations examined, rates of haematological presentations, musculoskeletal presentations, and injuries were the earliest to increase significantly compared to controls, which were found to increase since the third month (61-90 days) before the date of lymphoid leukaemia diagnosis ( Fig.…”

“…Clinical studies have reported some presentations before or at the time of leukaemia diagnosis, such as fever, anaemia, bleeding or musculoskeletal discomfort . Researchers have also attempted to summarise the duration between initial presentations and leukaemia diagnosis in case series .…”

“…Clinical studies have reported some presentations before or at the time of leukaemia diagnosis, such as fever, anaemia, bleeding or musculoskeletal discomfort. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Researchers have also attempted to summarise the duration between initial presentations and leukaemia diagnosis in case series. [9][10][11] However, many of these presentations are not specific and can be seen among children with leukaemia as well as children in the general population, and the extent to which these presentations were associated with leukaemia is unclear.…”

Arthritis as a presentation of acute leukemia

“…They also found clinical signs of leukemia are less prominent but the overall and event-free survivals were superior compared with the children without joint involvement. 12 Cytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly are rarely seen in acute lymphoblastic leukemia with joint involvement but the overall and event-free survivals were superior compared with the children without joint involvement. 12…”