Undiagnosed adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma in central Brooklyn, NY.
We present a case, identified by surveillance for adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), who had initial symptoms not specifically related to ATL, and who would not have been identified as having ATL otherwise. A 51-year-old Trinidadian black woman was hospitalized for abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Hematology and clinical chemistry revealed leukocytosis (19,600/mm3), an elevated lymphocyte percent (63%), and hypercalcemia (19.4 mg/dl). The patient was serologically confirmed with HTLV-I-associated ATL. Lymphoma was diagnosed at autopsy. This case is representative of ATL, which along with HTLV-I infection, may be emerging public health problems in urban communities of the northeast and southeast United States.
Welles
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SL
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA.
Dosik
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H
Joseph
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Levine
P H
PH
D015153:Blotting, Western; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006934:Hypercalcemia / Q000209:etiology; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States