PSEUDOTUMORAL CARDIAC INFILTRATION IN A P ATIENT WITH ACUTE MONOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA

Although cardiac infiltration is common in advanced stage of acute leu kaemia, it is not usually diagnosed at life and it is extremely rare f or it to become pseudotumoral, A 25-years-old patient with an acute mo noblastic leukaemia who had a leukaemic infiltration which affected th e main part of the left ventricle at the time of diagnosis, is referre d. The heart infiltration was detected by a two dimension echocardiogr aphy, In spite of a massive infiltration, heart failure was not presen t and the left ventricle's ejection fraction was 50%, Even though chem otherapy was administered, the patient died four days after diagnosis due to septic shock of respiratory origin, The most relevant autopsy f inding was a widespread pseudotumoral infiltration of the left ventric le, the back side of the right ventricle and the interventricular wall , The pseudotumoral infiltration of the heart by acute leukaemia is un common and must be differentiated from granulocytic sarcoma, The usefu lness of the different diagnostic procedures is discussed.