Recently a number of reports (1-7) have described a distinctive type of refractory anemia with an abnormal number 5 chromosome in the bone marrow. We present here a case describing the second instance of the 5q- syndrome terminating in acute myeloblastic leukemia.
An 83-year-old retired bricklayer was admitted in September 1975 with symptoms and signs of acute appendicitis, pallor, a left carotid bruit, and a 6-month history of macrocytic anemia unresponsive to iron, folic acid, or vitamin B12. After recovery from an appendectomy, the patient had a leukocyte count of 3100/µL with 70% neutrophils, 26% lymphocytes, 2% eosinophils, and 2%