[Rinshō ketsueki] The Japanese journal of clinical hematology
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We experienced two cases of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) which occurred during unfractionated heparin treatment. The first patient was a 72-year-old man, who was admitted to our hospital because of sudden onset dyspnea in January 2000. He was diagnosed as having a pulmonary embolism and heparin was started. ⋯ Cessation of heparin resulted in normalization of the platelet count. Both cases were positive for anti-heparin-platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibody. Here we report on the clinical course of two cases of HIT with a review of the literature.
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High-intermediate (HI)- and high (H)-risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma was treated with front-line intensive chemotherapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (auto-PBSCT). Twenty-eight cases were enrolled after obtaining informed consent, from November, 1998 to October, 2003. Initial treatment was 2 or 3 cycles of CHOP-V regimen, followed by three high-dose therapy, one each of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and etoposide. ⋯ Overall survival of cases with 2 cycles of CHOP-V regimen was 56% after a median observation time of 30 months, compared with 82% in cases with 3 cycles (p = 0.0732). The results suggested that the reduction of tumor size with the initial CHOP-V treatment was most important. In all cases, progression-free survival was 64% and the overall survival was 74% after a median observation time of 30 months, which showed a good outcome compared with that of HI- and H-risk group defined by the age-adjusted international prognostic index reported by Shipp et al.
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A 24-year-old woman with acute promyelocytic leukemia was treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) as a remission induction therapy. After pneumonia in the neutropenic period was successfully treated with antibiotic treatment, there was recurrence of high fever alone, followed by the appearance of erythema nodosum with pain in her upper limbs on day 25 of ATRA therapy. ⋯ Although the administration of ATRA was continued until complete remission of the leukemia, the erythema nodosum rapidly disappeared following short-term steroid therapy and no recurrence was observed. ATRA-induced erythema nodosum is rare, however it should be recognized as a possible adverse effect in ATRA therapy.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients who contracted the varicella zoster virus infection (VZV) following their allogeneic stem cell transplants. We retrospectively reviewed the incidence and the timing of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections, including the clinical course, complications, and associated clinical risk factors. Between January 1998 and April 2003, a total of 71 patients received allogeneic stem cell transplants in our hospital. ⋯ Treatment with acyclovir (oral or drip infusion) was successful in 25 patients. Two patients improved with vidarabine treatment, however the patient with the visceral infection died despite the use of acyclovir. The incidence of visceral infection was low, but the one case was fatal.
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Case Reports
[Imatinib mesylate plus G-CSF therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia in the blastic crisis].
Imatinib mesylate (imatinib) has shown significant effects in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia. However, hematological toxicity often occurs and requires dosage reduction or discontinuation of imatinib treatment. ⋯ There are a few reports on the efficacy of combined therapy with G-CSF and imatinib; however, the results in our case are rare suggesting that the use of G-CSF is effective for preventing severe infection. G-CSF enables continuous treatment with high-dose imatinib.