Acute myeloblastic leukemia presenting as apparent acute otitis media

Abstract

Three cases of acute myeloblastic leukemia of FAB-M2 type revealed by an isolated otitis media are reported. This mean of revelation is valuable for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. A karyotype was performed in two cases and showed an 8;21 translocation. As far as we know, these are the first acute myeloblastic leukemia cases with otitis media reported in which an 8;21 translocation was detected.

Myeloid Sarcoma of the Temporal Bone: A Unique Cause of Hearing Loss, Otalgia, and Facial Nerve Weakness

“…In addition to our patient, the presence of t (8;21) was reported in eight other cases in the literature (6,9,13,15,19–22); however, cytogenetic analysis was not performed in every patient so the prevalence of this translocation could not be determined.…”

“…In nearly every case of myeloid sarcomas presenting in the temporal bone found in the literature, the patient complained of a clinical triad of symptoms including ear pain (2-30), hearing loss (2,(5)(6)(7)(9)(10)(11)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(24)(25)(26)(27)30), and either unilateral or bilateral facial nerve palsy (2,(4)(5)(6)8,9,11,(13)(14)(15)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(24)(25)(26)30,31). Fortyfour percent of (18/41) of patients presented with all three of these symptoms while 76% (31/41) presented with at least two.…”