Latent acute promyelocytic leukaemia in a case of ischaemic stroke underlines the importance of prompt diagnostic confirmation prior to acute care.
When treating stroke as a medical emergency, more uncommon causes should be carefully and promptly considered, since timing may be crucial not only to any neuroprotective and particularly thrombolytic therapy but also to the management of an underlying life-threatening disease. This issue is illustrated in the report of an apparently extremely rare case in which an infarction in the territory of the middle cerebral artery was the presenting symptom of acute promyelocytic leukaemia with associated disseminated intravascular coagulation, which we believe highlights the imperative need of immediate haematological tests on all acute stroke patients.
Re
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Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Bologna, Italy.
Azzimondi
G
G
Lanzarini
C
C
Visani
G
G
Miglioli
M
M
D000328:Adult; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004211:Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male