Leukemic Retinopathy in Accelerated Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: A Rare Case from Indonesia

Doi: 10.36351/pjo.v42i2.2255

Abstract

Leukemia retinopathy is an uncommon and severe complication in chronic myeloid leukemia. Proper handling of this complication can save the patient from blindness. A 44-year-old man with accelerated-phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) presented with visual blurring and floatersfor the past one month associated with abdominal fullness and low-grade fever. There was splenomegaly, retinal neovascularization and Roth spots. Severe leukocytosis (658.55 × 10⁹/L), positivity for BCR-ABL p210, with additional laboratory findings were suggestive of CML. Hydroxyurea, allopurinol and tyrosine kinase inhibitors were initiated with improvement of hematological parameters but without halting the progression of vision loss. This case illustrates the need for early fundoscopy and OCT to prevent serious irreversible complications, in conjunction with other systemic therapies