Rhabdomyolysis during myelosuppression in a patient with central nervous system leukemia: A case report

Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially life-threatening syndrome and is a rare complication in patients with acute leukemia.

A 20-year-old male was admitted to our hospital due to skin ecchymosis in his trunk and lower limbs for 10 days.

Based on the precise diagnosis of leukemia, namely cell morphology, immunology, cytogenetics, and molecular biological typing (MICM), the patient was diagnosed with acute T-lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL).

The patient received hyper-Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine,Adriamycin, Dexamethasone (hyper-CVAD) regimen chemotherapy (methotrexate, pirarubicin, vincristine and dexamethasone alternating with methotrexate and cytarabine) for 3 courses of chemotherapy. After 3 months of treatment, the patient developed intermittent pain, blurred vision, and inarticulate speech. Therefore, the patient was considered as central nervous system leukemia (CNSL) and immediately received 2 courses of chemotherapy with hyper-CVAD-B combined with polyethylene glycol conjugated asparaginase (PEG-ASP).

On the seventh day after the completion of chemotherapy, the patient was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis because he complained of perianal pain and hematuria, and his creatine kinase (CK) increased suddenly to 3136 U/L. Finally, the patient died despite all kinds of active rescue.

Rhabdomyolysis may occur after chemotherapy of leukemia. When patients developed hematuria, muscle weakness, or even asymptomatic elevation of CK levels, physicians should pay attention to the occurrence of rhabdomyolysis and take active hydration treatment.