Publication:

Pattern of childhood acute leukemia presentation at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria: a five-year review

Background Acute leukemia is the most common childhood malignancy but its occurrence in low- and middle-income countries are under-reported. Its pattern of presentation varies depending on several factors. The objective of this report is to determine the pattern of presentation of acute leukemias in children at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study of children managed for acute leukemia at the Paediatric Department in a 5-year period. Of 31 patients, 27 had adequate records, which were reviewed. Data collected include patient’s demographics, clinical features and treatment outcome.

Results There were 16 males and 11 females, aged 8 months to 16 years (mean 7.45 years ±4.75 SD). The pattern of clinical features were fever (85.2%), pallor (92.6%) and splenomegaly (51.9%). The specific leukemia type ratio for Acute Myeloid leukemia (AML) and Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was 1: 2.9. The parents of three patients took their children away before commencement of treatment, one patient completed treatment and 6 (22.2%) died before completing treatment. Nearly half of the patients were lost to follow up to seek alternative care while 9 (33.3%) of the patients were in remission at last follow up. Lost to follow-up was found not to be significantly associated with socioeconomic status, age and sex respectively.

Conclusions Acute lymphoblastic leukemia remains the predominant type of childhood leukemia in our setting. Majority of the patients presented with fever and pallor moreover the default to follow-up plagues treatment completion.