TYPHLITIS IN A PATIENT WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC-LEUKEMIA PRIOR TO THEADMINISTRATION OF CHEMOTHERAPY

Patients and Methods: A 3-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leuke mia developed typhlitis immediately after diagnosis and before the ins titution of chemotherapy. Purpose: Typhlitis is a necrotizing colitis that develops in immunodeficient patients with severe neutropenia. Mos t patients are leukemic children who are receiving or have received ch emotherapy. Typhlitis in the absence of chemotherapy is rare. We repor t a fatal case of typhlitis in an untreated leukemic patient. Results: This case emphasizes the multifactorial pathogenesis of typhlitis, wh ich may occur in the absence of chemotherapy. Conclusions: Typhlitis s hould always be considered as a potential cause of acute sepsis and ab dominal pain in a leukemic patient.