A Case of Prolonged Thrombocytopenia in Childhood Terminating in Leukemic Reticuloendotheliosis

The case history is reported of a 2-year-old boy who presented with persistent thrombocytopenia, developed a leukoerythroblastic blood picture at 7½ years and died at 9 years of leukemic reticuloendotheliosis. His mother died of acute lymphatic leukemia shortly after the birth, and some of the hereditary aspects of leukemia are discussed. It is suggested that the thrombocytopenia represented a preleukemic state, of unusually long duration, and that this and the leukemic reticuloendotheliosis were different phases of the same basic disorder. The surmise is made that heredity may play a part in the etiology of leukemic reticuloendotheliosis in childhood, a period of life when this disorder is very rare.