Aleukemic stem cell leukemia with polyserositis; report of case.

CUTE LEUKEMIA has many clinical variatiomis, of which involvement of serous surfaces is omie of the most uncommon. Of these unusual cases, involvement of both the pericardial and pleural surfaces has never previously been recorded and that fact is the justification for the presemit case report. Wendkos’ reported a case of massive pericardial effusion as the first clinical manifestation of lymphocytic leukemia. Iii this case, pericardial effusion appeared first, to be followed by left pleural effusiomi, both confirmed by the necropsy finding of leukemic plaques and infiltrations imi pericardium and left pleura. Friedman and Silverman2 reported a case of pericardial effusion in the course of chronic granulocytic leukemia. Effusion was not the first manifestation in this case ; it disappeared during the course of the disease. Permission for miecropsy w-as refused. Bierman, Perkins and Ortega3 reported 4 cases of leukemic pericarditis. Two of the cases were granulocytic, and necropsy showed ami adhesive pericarditis. The remainimig two were lymphocytic fri type, amid in these necropsy showed a pericarditis with effusiomi. The case presemited here possesses several features of unusual interest, chief of which was the simultamieous involvement of both pericardial amid pleural surfaces, thus making diagnosis difficult until the unusual hematologic features became apparent.