A Rare Case: Acute Liver Injury Uncovering a Diagnosis of B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in a Young Adult

Abstract

Acute liver injury can be seen in a myriad of disease states such as chronic alcoholism, hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. When considering acute liver injury in a young adult, the list of differential diagnoses is much more narrow. One rare cause can be acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a hematologic malignancy that can be seen in the young adult population. We present a rare case of an 18-year-old male with no prior medical history who presented with abdominal pain and nausea. A complete workup for acute liver injury aided us in uncovering a diagnosis of B-cell ALL. This case highlights the importance of a broad differential in acute liver injury and consideration of ALL as a cause of acute liver injury, especially in young adults.