All issues > Volume 52(6); 2009

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2009;52(6):713-716. Published online June 15, 2009.

Facial palsy as the presenting symptom of acute myeloid leukemia in children: Three cases with stem cell transplantatio

Hee Jo HJ Baek¹, Dong Kyun DK Han¹, Young Ok YO Kim¹, Ic Sun IS Choi¹, Tai Ju TJ Hwang¹, Hoon H Kook¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

Correspondence Hoon H Kook ,Email: hoonkook@chonnam.ac.kr

Abstract

Facial palsy as the presenting symptom of leukemia is very rare, especially in acute myeloid leukemia. A review of the medical literature identified reports on 8 children with AML who had facial paralysis as the presenting sign. Whole brain irradiation (WBI) has been applied in most cases. We present the cases of 3 such children. Achieving a remission without WBI, the patients underwent stem cell transplantations (SCTs). Two patients remain event-free 52 months and 62 months after allotransplants. Facial palsy was the harbinger of leukemic relapse in one case after autotransplant. This patient is disease-free 59 months after unrelated SCT rescue. Facial palsy persisted in 2 cases. Allogeneic SCT without WBI may be an effective therapy in patients presenting with facial palsy. A brief review of the literature is presented here.

Keywords :Facial palsy, Acute myeloid leukemia, Whole brain irradiation, Stem cell transplantation, Children