Leukaemias - Acute and Chronic

This condition is treated in the Haematology (including oncological disorders) clinic.

Pre-referral work-up

History

All referrals should comply to referral standards referral standards and include in particular:

• Relevant investigations, including previous results to assess temporal pattern.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is generally an indolent lymphoproliferative disorder and will be triaged accordingly.

• Traditional indications for treatment of CLL include the following and are an indication of the need to discuss the case for a more prompt review:
  • Symptomatic lymphadenopathy
  • Auto-immune cytopenias (Autoimmune haemolytic naemia, Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura)
  • Lymphocyte doubling time of under six months
  • Presence of disabling – B Symptoms" (fevers, loss of over 10% body weight, drenching night sweats)

Interim/GP management

To refer a patient with this condition, please see the Haematology clinic page for the full referral process and templates.

Any newly diagnosed acute leukaemia should be discussed with the Haematologist/Registrar on call and may be referred directly to the Emergency Department for assessment, stabilisation and investigation.

For more information please see the HealthPathways Tasmania website.

Clinic appointments

? Red location flags are clinical indicators of possible serious underlying conditions requiring further medical intervention. They may or may not indicate an emergency.

Emergency

? Suspected acute leukaemia (evidenced by blood film report)

? Severe cytopenias if patient is unwell (i.e. infection, symptomatic anaemia, active bleeding):

• Neutrophils under 0.5 x 10^9/L
• Haemoglobin under 80g/L
• Platelets under 20 x 10^9/L

? Rapidly progressive leucocytosis (white cell count over 75 x 10^9/L) in the absence of infection/inflammation where there may be a risk of leucostasis/hyperviscosity

If you, or someone else, are experiencing a serious and life-threatening injury or illness call triple zero (000) immediately or go to the nearest Emergency Department.

Learn more about when to access emergency care and non-emergency care options if the injury or illness is not serious or life-threatening.

Availability

North

Launceston General Hospital
Level 1 - W.P. Holman Clinic
Phone: 03 6777 6140
Fax: 03 6331 6371

North West

North West Regional Hospital > Mersey Community Hospital
Torquay Road Latrobe TAS 7307

Visit Northern Cancer Service

South

Royal Hobart Hospital (Level 1 - A Block)

Phone (appointments): 03 6166 6655
Phone (clinic nurses): 03 6166 6637
Fax: 03 6173 0484