[Fulminant hepatitis cured by plasma exchange in a patient with acute leukemia--a case report]

A 16-year-old male with acute myelogenous leukemia (M1) presented with fulminant hepatitis (massive hepatic necrosis). He achieved a complete remission with the administration of AdVP (doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone), and thereafter received consolidation or intensification therapy 5 times in combination with AdVP plus enocitabine. A bone marrow examination carried out before the 6th round of chemotherapy revealed a slight increase of myeloblast (7%). L-AdVP (including l-asparaginase in addition to AdVP) was administered with a good result. However, 13 days after the end of the therapy he complained of acute abdominal pain, headache and fever. The following day, his consciousness level became lower and severe jaundice appeared. The serum transaminase level highly elevated with PT and aPTT severely elongated. He was diagnosed as having fulminant hepatitis. Elevation of the titer of IgM-HBc suggested that the fulminant hepatitis was attributed to HBV, which was probably transmitted by blood transfusion done in the first induction therapy and stayed latent during immunosuppressive chemotherapy. After receiving 10 sessions of plasma exchange (3.2 l/day), he recovered, free from any major complications except posttransfusion hepatitis. In his serum taken at 1 month after the recovery of posttransfusion hepatitis, HCV (Chiron) antibody was detected. There have been few reports concerning fulminant hepatitis associated with acute leukemia. In this case, plasma exchange was very effective in treating fulminant hepatitis.