Abstract

CABRERA AGUILAR, Wendy. EPIDEMIOLOGIC, CLINICAL AND LABORATORY FEATURES IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE MYELOMA IN THE SERVICE OF HEMATOLOGY - HOSPITAL MATERNO INFANTIL - CAJA NACIONAL DE SALUD, FROM MARCH 2012 TO FEBRUARY 2013. Rev. Méd. La Paz [online]. 2016, vol.22, n.2, pp.36-41. ISSN 1726-8958.

Introduction. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal proliferation of plasma cells characterized by abnormal production of immunoglobulinas or immunoglobulin fragments and target organ damage. It mainly affects elderly, male and black patients. Objective. To describe epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory features of patients with MM in our population. Material and methods. Descriptive, cross-sectional study based on a review of medical records of new cases of MM diagnosed in the Hematology service of the Materno Infantil Hospital (Caja Nacional de Salud) in La Paz city over one year (March 2012 to February 2013). Results. Records of 14 new patients diagnosed with MM were reviewed during the study period. The average age was 57.7 years, with a median of 58.5 years and a range of 38-74 years. The sex ratio was 1: 1. Most patients were from La Paz. The average time from the onset of clinical symptoms to diagnosis was 4.1 months with a range of 1-12 months. Fatigue, weight loss, bone pain and back pain were the most frequent manifestations. All patients had anemia at diagnosis. Most of the patients had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and globulins. 64% of patients had hypoalbuminemia. The most common variety of myeloma was IgG followed by IgA. The most used treatment was the thalidomide-dexamethasone scheme. Conclusions. There are epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory differences in our population compared to those reportedin the literature. Further studies are required to corroborate these findings.

Keywords : Myeloma; Bolivia; symptoms; neoplasia.

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