Cytologic findings of acute leukemia in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is often performed in patients with acute leukemia developed with respiratory failure or pulmonary infiltrates. Patients usually undergo BAL to rule out infection. Occasionally, however, leukemic infiltrate may be detected. We present a series of 11 cases in which the diagnosis of leukemia was made on the BAL material. We retrospectively reviewed all BAL samples from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008. There were a total of 1,130 cases, of which 139 showed malignant cytology, including 10 with leukemia. Sixteen samples were unsatisfactory and 904 were benign, of which 32 had identifiable microorganisms. In additional to the 10 leukemia cases identified, two more were reviewed after the search criteria. The 12 patients (seven men, five women) ranged from 22 to 75 years old. All patients had previously biopsy-proven leukemia [two acute myelomonocytic leukemia, two acute promyelocytic leukemia, two acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with inv16, two therapy-related AML, one acute monocytic leukemia, one chronic myeloid leukemia in blast face, one AML with maturation, one myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts, and one large granular leukemia]. Four had a prior diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome. The time from initial diagnosis of leukemia to BAL ranged from 1 to 233 days, with 8 of 10 occurring within 8 days of diagnosis. Symptoms that prompted BAL included shortness of breath/hypoxia (8), fever (3), chest pain (2), and cough (2). Chest X-rays in all cases revealed opacities or consolidations mimicking an inflammatory process. Seven patients subsequently died, while three were alive, and, in remission, and two were lost to follow-up. The presence of a leukemic infiltrate can mimic infection. BAL is a relatively safe and useful diagnostic tool in this setting for differentiating a leukemic infiltrate from an infection/inflammatory infiltrate. The prognosis of patients with lung involvement of acute leukemia is poor.