Acute leukaemias in adult Ethiopians in a teaching hospital

Eighty-two consecutive cases of acute leukaemias in adult Ethiopians were admitted to the Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Hospital, a teaching and referral hospital in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, from January 1982 to December 1992. These cases were studied to describe the clinical and haematological findings, response to therapy and prognosis. The age range was 13-78 (mean 29.6) years. The male to female ratio was 1.6:1. Acute myeloblastic (AML) and acute lymphoblastic (ALL) leukaemias occurred in 53.7% and 46.3%, respectively. The commonest symptoms were anaemia, fever and bleeding tendencies. The commonest signs were pallor, fever, sternal tenderness and purpura. Splenomegaly was more commonly seen in ALL patients. The haematological findings were anaemia (mean Hgb 6.35 g%), leucocytosis (mean WBC count 88,507/mm3) and thrombocytopenia (mean platelet count 31,700/mm3). Of the patients eligible for evaluation treated with chemotherapeutic agents, only 38.4% of ALL and 6.2% of AML achieved complete remission. Twenty-seven patients with ALL died from one day to 84 (median 1.0) months after diagnosis. Ten are lost to follow-up from two weeks to 36 (median 2.5) months, one is still alive 40 months after diagnosis. Thirty-nine of the AML patients died from one day to nine (median 0.3) months after diagnosis. Five are lost to follow-up from two weeks to two and a half (median 2.0) months. The causes of death were sepsis and bleeding, separately or in combination. Increasing numbers of acute leukaemia patients are being referred to this centre. Therefore, attempts should be made to equip it for the treatment of such cases.