Infectious complications associated with hairy cell leukemia

Infectious complications in 47 patients with hairy cell leukemia were reviewed. Seventeen patients had culture-documented infections, 13 patients had significant clinical infections not documented by culture, and 17 had no serious infections. In the docuented group, 64% of the infections were pyogenic and 36% were nonpyogenic. Patients In the two, groups with serious infections had an initial median granulocyte count that was significantly lower than the granulocyte count in the uninfected group (P<0.05). Ten of the 17 patients with documented infections died, all as a result of their infections. In the uninfected group, two of 17 patients died, both with progressive disease. Four (9%) of the 47 patients had disseminated atypical mycobacterial disease; two of these patients are alive and asymptomatic two and three years, respectively, after the diagnosis of infection.