Hämatologischer Thoraxschmerz - Fall 3 / 2016

HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS: We report the case of a 59-year-old male who was admitted to hospital with acute chest pain. Coronary heart disease was known from the medical history. The patient reported recurrent ostealgia and susceptibility for infection during the last months before admission.

INVESTIGATIONS: A 75% stenosis of the circumflex branch was treated with a drug eluting stent. Platelet aggregation was inhibited with acetylsalicylic acid and clopidogrel. Due to persisting ostealgia and inflammatory state, spondylodiscitis was excluded in MRI. However, platelets remained low after successful treatment of the infection.

DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND COURSE: Bone marrow biopsy revealed an acute lymphoblastic leukemia with positive detection of the Philadelphia chromosome. After chemotherapy and allogenic hematopoietic cell transplantation the patient remains in remission of his acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

CONCLUSIONS: Especially in patients with documented history of coronary heart disease, the differential diagnosis of chest pain can be challenging. In this case, the chest pain was based on a subacute coronary ischemia as well as on proliferation of the acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The management of dual oral anticoagulation was performed with higher transfusion limits for thrombocytes and continuous application of thrombocyte aggregation inhibitors.