Case report: acute tumour lysis syndrome.

INTRODUCTION

Acute tumour lysis syndrome (ATLS) is a potentially lethal but preventable complication of oncological treatment.

CLINICAL PICTURE: We report a case of a patient with Burkitt's leukaemia who developed ATLS after treatment with chemotherapy.

TREATMENT: Standard preventive measures using aggressive hydration, urine alkalinisation and uricosuric agents were instituted before chemotherapy.

OUTCOME: However in spite of adequate measures, the patient succumbed to the sequelae of ATLS.

CONCLUSIONS

It is therefore important to identify patients who are at a high risk of developing ATLS so that additional measures can be taken to prevent it from occurring.