Two cases of cardiac aspergillosis with initial onset of arrhythmia during therapy of acute leukemia

Abstract

We have reported two women, aged 86 and 84 years, with cardiac aspergillosis with initial onset of arrhythmia during chemotherapy of acute myeloblastic leukemia and primary plasma cell leukemia, respectively. In leukopenia followed by chemotherapy, they suddenly had arrhythmias with high fever. The former had cardiac infarction with complete atrioventricular block and the latter was also cardiac infarction following to atrial fibrillation. In both cases, cardiac aspergillosis was not diagnosed by echocardigraphy but by autopsy. Since cardiac aspergillosis dose not have characteristic features clinically or examinationally, we need to consider arrhythmias revealed in leukopenia as one symptom of cardiac aspergillosis.