Morphology Monday | Case MM251103
This week we have a case from a 61-year-old patient who presented with persistent fatigue and unintentional weight loss. Routine bloods were performed, and the full blood count has raised some important red flags.
MM251027: Acute myeloid leukaemia
The blood film showed numerous myeloid blasts with Auer rods, supporting the diagnosis of AML. Flow cytometry revealed a blast population accounting for 88.7% of total cells, with a myeloid immunophenotype
Morphology Monday | Case MM251027
This week’s case comes from a 59-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department with fatigue, shortness of breath, and spontaneous bruising that had developed over several weeks.
Malaria | Only Cells | Parasites | Red cells
MM251020: P. malariae
Earlier in the week a couple of blood film images were shared as part of this week’s Morphology Monday case. On closer inspection the blood film revealed both trophozoites and schizonts of Plasmodium malariae.
Morphology Monday | Case MM251020
A middle aged traveller presented with mild, recurring fevers and general malaise several weeks and a slightly reduced platelet count. Blood films were made to assess the cause.
MM251013: Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML)
The blood film shows a genuine thrombocytopaenia, with a leukocytosis comprising predominantly of promyelocytes with Auer rods. The cells have immature nucleoli, abundant cytoplasmic granulation and approximately 25%% of the cells are bilobed. These are consistent with acute promyelocytic leukaemia.
Morphology Monday | Case MM251013
This week’s Morphology Monday case is from a 57 year old who presented to the emergency department.
MM251006: Lymphoproliferative disorder (?PLL)
The findings are in keeping with a lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD). Given the predominance of prolymphocytes, the picture is suggestive of Prolymphocytic Leukaemia (PLL). However, this would require confirmation by flow cytometry to establish lineage and clonality.
Morphology Monday | Case MM251006
This week’s case comes from a 62-year-old female whose sample was flagged by the analyser, but interestingly, no differential count was produced. The WBC scattergram showed an abnormal grey plot, prompting a manual film review.
MM250915: Renal impairment / IDA
The case underlines how multiple comorbidities can converge to produce complex red cell morphology.