Immediate causes of death in Burkitt lymphoma patients in Ibadan

A retrospective study was conducted of 41 patients with Burkitt lymphoma who had partial or complete records of both clinical and pathologic features of their disease, that is, clinical observations immediately before death and pathological findings at sub-sequent post-mortem examinations.The immediate causes of death in five patients were cardiac failure and related conditions; in seven patients, hepatic, renal, or adrenal failure; in ten patients, hemorrhage from necrotic tumor; and in 12 patients, miscellaneous causes of death were recorded. In seven patients, no definite cause of death could be found.Results of these patients and a survey of reported cases lead to the conclusion that effective supportive treatment might be a life-saving adjuvant regimen in treatment of Burkitt lymphoma patients, and should be instituted as soon as the diagnosis of the disease is made.