HYPERGLYCEMIA AND ACUTE PAROTITIS RELATED TO L-ASPARAGINASE THERAPY

In a boy with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), two different complication s developed concurrently associated with L-asparaginase (L-ASP) therap y. A non-ketotic hyperglycemic state was observed simultaneously with bilateral acute parotitis after the patient was subjected to L-ASP, Th e hyperglycemia with normal insulin levels and the absence of plasma a nd urine ketones was controlled with insulin therapy and no residual i mpairment of glucose tolerance was demonstrated later, Bilateral acute parotitis, which is a rare complication associated with L-ASP, resolv ed spontaneously within a week after cessation of L-ASP. The rarely ob served toxic effects of L-ASP, such as parotitis, should be recognized as promptly as the better-known complications, e.g., hyperglycemia, t o avoid the continuation of this antineoplastic agent.