[Septicemia in leukemia and malignant lymphoma. Incidence pathogens--causes]

Abstract

Septicemia occurred in 81 (= 23.9%) of 339 patients with leukemias an malignant lymphomas during 1979-1984/VI. In leukemias the acute forms and in malignant lymphomas the high malignant forms were mostly affected. The frequency of gramnegative bacterias (46 = 56.8%) was higher than that of gram-positive bacterias (32 = 39.5%) and of fungus (3 = 3.7%). The frequency of septicemia in leukemias (alone) between 1966-1977 was 13.9%, between 1979-1984/VI 30%. In this comparison septicemias caused by gram-negative bacterias and fungus decreased, whereas gram-positive septicemias increased. The focus of septicemia remained unknown in 30 cases, Pneumonias and the urinary tract were the most common source, followed by the skin. All patients were under cytostatics and therefore leukopenic, most of them received corticosteroids simultaneously and were thus immunosuppressed. A combination of granulocytopenia less than 1,000 mm3 with hypogammaglobulinemia less than 10 rel.% were mostly found in acute leukemias and in chronic lymphatic leukemia. 41.5% of febrile episodes from all groups of these diseases were of non-microbic origin (local or septic) an thus possibly symptom of activity of the underlying disease.