Acute leukaemia represents uncontrolled malign, immature cell proliferations (called blasts) of the hematopoietic system. As opposed to chronic leukaemia, acute leukaemia occurs in a few weeks and determines the precocious occurrence of symptoms, severe in some situations, which renders its diagnosis and treatment extremely important. The diagnosis of acute leukaemia is established based on a blood exam: the complete blood count (CBC), the peripheral blood smear and the red marrow biopsy, highlighting leucocytes, leukemic blasts and thrombocytopenia; usually, anaemia and a haematocrit decrease are registered. It is worrying that the number of leukaemia cases has grown widely during the last years and it is increasingly harder to detect the causes of these genetic changes at cellular level. The purpose of the present study was to capture and highlight the importance of the changes that occurred in the examination of peripheral blood smears and of the automatic complete blood counts, before and after the intervention of the chemotherapy treatment, respectively in the high precision diagnosis of acute leukemias. Patients were monitored during the chemotherapy treatment, with 23 complete blood counts and peripheral blood smears being performed. The analysis and processing of complete blood counts was done following the changes that intensive chemotherapy induces at the level of haematological parameters and on the morphology of blood cells. It has been observed that depending on the individual and the time of diagnosis of acute leukemia, there are wide variations in blood parameters. The response to chemotherapy treatment is also variable over time. Chemotherapy caused the sudden decrease in the number of leukocytes and the complete destruction of leukemic blasts. The investigation of peripheral blood smears supported the results recorded in the processing of automatic complete blood counts for all patients. If the presence of leukemic blasts associated with leukocytosis or leukopenia was detected before chemotherapy, the chemotherapy treatment initially destroyed the leukemic blasts, and then they reappeared on the blood smears. The result indicates the need to consolidate the remission obtained following the first chemotherapy treatment by continuing the treatment until the complete release of the haematogenous bone marrow from the cancer cells, and by resuming the normal haematopoiesis of blood cells.

acute leukemia, blood counts, blood smears, chemotherapy treatment

biology

Presentation: poster