Acute Leukemia with Rupture of the Spleen as the Initial Symptom

SPONTANEOUS rupture of the spleen has been reported in many diseases associated with splenomegaly. Malaria, the most common of these, was found in 50 per cent of 44 cases of spontaneous splenic rupture seen in the Army Institute of Pathology.1 Infectious mononucleosis, the second most common associated disorder, was present in 7 cases. Other diseases in which spontaneous rupture of the spleen has been reported include tularemia,2 sarcoidosis3 and infectious hepatitis4 although the last case may have been one of infectious mononucleosis with hepatic involvement.In leukemia splenic rupture is rare. Lange5 observed leukemia in only 5 of 189 cases . . .