Stuttering Priapism in a Teenage Boy: Lesson to be Learnt

The value of leukapheresis for treatment of priapism as presenting feature of chronic myeloid leukemia-Case report and review of literature

Priapism is a rare presenting feature of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in male patients. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms and to prevent erectile dysfunction. Several treatment modalities exist, however no standard treatment is recommended. We evaluated literature concerning different treatment approaches and evaluate the value of leukapheresis in treatment of priapism. The literature search resulted in 57 included articles, consisting of 53 studied patients. Patients had a mean age of 25.3 years, average time from onset to presentation at the hospital was 2 days, and mean white blood cell (WBC) count was 344 × 10⁹/L. Most patients (67.9%) were treated with a combined approach (different modalities were radiological, urological, and oncological treatment). Twelve patients, with a mean WBC count of 365 × 10⁹/L, received leukapheresis. Only two of them reported erectile dysfunction after treatment. Priapism is an urological emergency requiring urgent multidisciplinary treatment. We highlight the importance of local urological therapy combined with systemic therapy for CML. Therapeutic leukapheresis should be applied when available and with no other contraindications.

Acute Management of Prolonged, Recalcitrant Priapism in a Pediatric Patient

Although rare in pediatrics, ischemic priapism carries significant risk of erectile dysfunction if not treated promptly. We report a case of idiopathic ischemic priapism in a male aged 14 years, refractory to traditional therapies, including aspiration/irrigation, phenylephrine injection, and distal shunt. However, the priapism resolved after intracavernosal injections of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) with preservation of normal erectile function. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of intracavernosal tPA for treatment of pediatric priapism. tPA may be a useful management option for recalcitrant ischemic priapism in pediatric patients and may prevent devastating outcomes such as lifelong erectile dysfunction.

Definition, Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Essential Criteria for Diagnosis of Pediatric Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Simple Summary

The low incidence (1:1,000,000) of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the first two decades of life presents an obstacle to accumulation of pediatric experience and knowledge on this leukemia. Biological features of CML are shared but also differing between adult and pediatric patients. This review aims; (i) to define the disease based on an unified terminology, (ii) to list the diseases to be considered as a differential diagnosis in children, (iii) to outlines the morphological, histopathological and immuno-phenotypical findings of pediatric CML, (iv) to illustrate rare but classical complications resulting from high white cell and platelet counts at diagnosis, and (v) to recommend a uniform approach for the diagnostic procedures to be applied. Evidently, only a clear detailed picture of all relevant features can lay the basis for standardized treatment approaches.

Abstract

Depending on the analytical tool applied, the hallmarks of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are the Philadelphia Chromosome and the resulting mRNA fusion transcript BCR-ABL1. With an incidence of 1 per 1 million of children this malignancy is very rare in the first 20 years of life. This article aims to; (i) define the disease based on the WHO nomenclature, the appropriate ICD 11 code and to unify the terminology, (ii) delineate features of epidemiology, etiology, and pathophysiology that are shared, but also differing between adult and pediatric patients with CML, (iii) give a short summary on the diseases to be considered as a differential diagnosis of pediatric CML, (iv) to describe the morphological, histopathological and immunophenotypical findings of CML in pediatric patients, (v) illustrate rare but classical complications resulting from rheological problems observed at diagnosis, (vi) list essential and desirable diagnostic criteria, which hopefully in the future will help to unify the attempts when approaching this rare pediatric malignancy.