[Acute lymphoblastic leukemia with hyperleucocytosis: an urgent problem during initial treatment (author's transl)]

The frequency and the severity of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and of metabolic complications during the induction treatment were studied in 62 cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia with initial white blood cell count over 100 000/cu mm. Transient DIC were noted in 20,5% of cases. Metabolic complications were frequent: hyper-uricemia noted in 62% of cases was not the chief problem. Hyperazotemia was noted in 33% of cases and hyperkaliemia in 26% of cases. Hypocalcemia, noted in 34% of cases, was always associated with hyperphosphoremia. Blood glucose was low in 4 cases and increased in 7 cases out of 39.