[Pulmonary complications of induction therapy in acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Findings in chest x-rays and computer tomography].

UNLABELLED: To exclude pulmonary complications, 359 chest radiographs and 50 computed tomographs of the lung were performed in 95 patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia. The radiological findings were registered, described and correlated with clinical findings in the present study on 2395 days of observation.

RESULTS

In summary, 52 patients showed alterations of the lung. Pulmonary hyperhydration was seen in 21 cases, bacterial pneumonia was found in 18 cases, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis was documented in 14 cases, and 5 cases of severe haemorrhage were seen. An unexplained pulmonary edema in 13 patients with interstitial and alveolar infiltrates is considered to be a complication of treatment with cytosine- arabinoside.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate that chest X- ray and computed tomography have a high impact in detection and treatment of pulmonary complications following intensive chemotherapy. We may expect the development of diffuse opacity following administration of cytosine-arabinoside in medium-sized doses.