Hematocytological evaluation of acute myeloid leukemia manifesting as pleural effusion

Malignant pleural effusions can occur in the setting of both solid and haematological malignancies with carcinomas representing more than three-quarter of the cases. Haematological malignancies can occasionally present with or develop pleural effusions during the clinical course of the disease and treatment. Among the most common disorders are Hodgkin’s and Non – Hodgkin’s lymphomas with a frequency of 20-30%, especially if the mediastinal involvement is present. Acute and chronic leukaemias rarely cause pleural effusion [1]. Acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) are defined as clonal expansions caused by acquired oncogenic mutations that impede differentiation, leading to accumulation of myeloid blasts in the marrow. Extramedullary disease and cutaneous manifestations are rare presenting features of this disease [2]. Pleural effusion caused by leukemic infiltration is an unusual extramedullary manifestation of the disease. We reported a case of a 54 years old female with AML with monocytic differentiation on chemotherapy who was admitted to the hospital with the complaints of shortness of breath and orthopnoea.