Presentation of a case with perineal and bartholin gland inflammations as an initial manifestation of acute myeloid leukemia: case report

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant hematological disorder which has numerous manifestations at the initial step such as infections and hemorrhagic signs. This is the first report in which the diagnosis of AML was made after managing of Bartholin gland site swelling and pain as the chief complaint of a patient.

Herein, we present a young girl who was referred to us in our tertiary level hospital, Firoozgar Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in october, 2017 just with pain and swelling of the left Bartholin gland. At first, it was suspected to be a cyst or abscess of Bartholin gland, she did not have any history or symptoms of infection on comprehensive physical examinations such as pneumonia, meningitis, Nevertheless, the ultimate diagnosis of AML was made after generalized and precise systemic examination and laboratory findings were done. According to the guidelines for the treatment of AML, systemic chemotherapy with multiple drugs was given immediately but unfortunately, she died due to severe septicemia which was resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Based on our searching, this is the first case. Because we expected other more common symptoms of acute lukemia, systematic and precise generalized examination must be performed gently in all of the patients even in women just with genital symptoms as their chief compliant for instance, pain and swelling of Bartholin gland. Finally, not focusing just on the perineal site and detailed examination for all parts of the body may reveal an accurate diagnosis of the main underlying disease.