Correlation of pseudohypoxemia and leukocytosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Pseudohypoxemia has been reported in leukemic patients with extreme leukocy tosis, and it is characterized by a low oxygen saturation on arterial blood gas analysis despite normal saturation on pulse oximetry. We report the ca se of a 51-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and an elevated w hite blood cell (WBC) count after splenectomy; his progressive postoperativ e pseudohypoxemia gradually improved as the leukocytosis was lowered by che motherapy. We believe this is the first report to show a statistically sign ificant correlation between the WBC count and the degree of pseudohypoxemia in a patient with leukemia.