Case Report

Correlation of Pseudohypoxemia and Leukocytosis in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Authors: TITO F. GORSKI MD, MICHAELL AJEMIAN MD, ERFAN HUSSAIN MD, AKRAM TALHOUK MD, GREGORY RUSKIN MD, ADEL HANNA MD, MITCHEL JACOBS MD

Abstract

AbstractPseudohypoxemia has been reported in leukemic patients with extreme leukocytosis, and it is characterized by a low oxygen saturation on arterial blood gas analysis despite normal saturation on pulse oximetry. We report the case of a 51-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and an elevated white blood cell (WBC) count after splenectomy; his progressive postoperative pseudohypoxiemia gradually improved as the leukocytosis was lowered by chemotherapy. We believe this is the first report to show a statistically significant correlation between the WBC count and the degree of pseudohypoxemia in a patient with leukemia.

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References