Case report illustrates how infection masked acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis, resulting in severe complications in an elderly patient.
Key Points
The aim is to highlight the atypical presentation and delayed diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in an elderly patient due to overlapping symptoms with infection.
Case presentation of an 84-year-old female with scleroderma and infection-like symptoms.
Evaluation included blood tests, imaging (CT chest), bronchoscopy, and flow cytometry to confirm diagnosis.
Management included IV interventions and later palliative care discussions.
Patient initially misdiagnosed with infection; confirmed diagnosis of ALL post diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.
Severe thrombocytopenia (platelets dropped to 3 × 10³/µL) led to acute respiratory failure and multiorgan dysfunction.
Importance of recognizing hematologic malignancy in the elderly with unexplained cytopenias was underscored.