Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Minoxidil

A 52 year old male presents with splenomegaly, fatigue, weakness, weight loss, pancytopenia, and a smear shown above.

Challenge: What is the diagnosis and what stain is shown in the image above?

Image shown under fair use.

3 comments:

  1. I think Rogaine is the last thing his B cells need :(

    Hairy cell leukemia, TRAP stain

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  2. haha good job!
    -
    Minoxidil

    This is hairy cell leukemia (minoxidil or Rogaine is used to promote hair regrowth). Hairy cell leukemia is a chronic B cell lymphoproliferative disorder; the cells have prominent irregular cytoplasmic projections. This is a stain for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), characteristic of hairy cell leukemia.

    Sources: UpToDate; som.tulane.edu.

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