Cerebral vein thrombosis as the initial presentation of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML)

Abstract A 33-year-old woman with morbid obesity, positive IgM cardiolipin antibody, and recurrent venous thromboembolism on weight-based enoxaparin treatment developed severe headaches during her 9th week of pregnancy and was diagnosed with cerebral vein thrombosis (CVT). She was treated with enoxa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fizza Zulfiqar, Noora Khadoori, Lisa Deptula, Geetha Krishnamoorthy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Rare Diseases
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44162-024-00061-y
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Summary:Abstract A 33-year-old woman with morbid obesity, positive IgM cardiolipin antibody, and recurrent venous thromboembolism on weight-based enoxaparin treatment developed severe headaches during her 9th week of pregnancy and was diagnosed with cerebral vein thrombosis (CVT). She was treated with enoxaparin (1 mg/kg) 240 mg twice daily, after a few days of intravenous heparin. Her complete blood count showed mild pancytopenia, with normal peripheral smear. She had a normal bone marrow biopsy done due to leukocytosis a year ago. She few days later presented to our emergency department (ED) with worsening headache and photophobia. Workup revealed normal anti-Xa activity despite weight-based enoxaparin, CVT, and a new diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia. While it is known that APML predisposes to thrombotic events, there is limited literature that reports enoxaparin-resistant CVT as an initial manifestation of APML. It is important for clinicians to be aware that occurrence of unusual thromboembolism may herald APML.
ISSN:2731-085X