life-saving effect of corticosteroid and colchicine combination in acute myeloid leukemia: case report

In the present research, we reported an acute myeloid leukemia subject. the patient was treated with cytarabine 200 mg/m² per day with continuous iv infusion on days 1, 2, 3, 4, etoposide 100 mg/m² per day with continuous iv infusion on days 1, 2, 3, 4, idarubicin 12 mg/m² as a 4-hour iv infusion on days 2, 4, 6, and mitoxantrone 10 mg/m² as a 30-minute iv infusion on days 1, 2, 3. during treatment, the patient suffered from 3 life-threatening complications caused by chemotherapy drugs include sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (sos), refractory thrombocytopenia, and pericardial effusion with pericardiocentesis limitation. to this end, we tried three novel approaches for patient management by corticosteroid and colchicine. intravenous immunoglobulin infusion and oral prednisolone (2 mg/kg/d) were not effective in thrombocytopenia. however, eltrombopag (25 mg/kg/d) response was dramatic. moreover, pericardial effusion and respiratory distress during the first chemotherapy course were managed with lasix (2 mg/kg/d) and spironolactone (25 mg/d); meanwhile, the massive pericardial effusion during the second chemotherapy course was managed with colchicine (0.5 mg/d) through the mentioned treatment. fortunately, these approaches were effective and life-saving.