Abstract

Excessive blasts in patients with acute leukeamia may cause serious problems such as tumour lysis syndrome or

luekostasis. Leukapheresis is effective in prevention and/or treatment of these problems. In this study we evaluated

the results of 22 patients having hyperleukocytosis and underwent leukapheresis in order to evaluate the

effectiveness of the procedure and its influence on clinical course. While therapeutic leukapheresis was performed

to 11 patients, in the remainder prophylactic leukapheresis was performed. An average of 42% leucocyte depletion

was obtained in both groups. However, despite the significant leucocyte depletion, 7 of the 11 patients who

underwent therapotic leukapheresis have died due to leukostasis. We suggest that prophylactic luekapheresis

performed early during the diagnosis may be effective in acute leukeamia patients with hyperleukocytosis.

Key Words: Leukapheresis, Hyperleukocytosis, Leukapheresis