Grand Larceny of Oxygen by Leukocytes

To the Editor.— The editorial "Grand Larceny at the Cellular Level" (243:1264, 1980) refers to the article by Fox et al 1 whereby they describe one patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia and another with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had large numbers of leukocytes (276,000/cu mm and 360,000/cu mm, respectively). Both patients initially had low arterial Po 2 that increased toward normal after institution of cytoreductive therapy. We have observed a similar phenomenon in a 54-year-old woman with a T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. 2 The WBC count reached a maximum of 385,000/cu mm, at which point several determinations of the arterial Po 2 showed a considerable decrease (Po 2 between 55 and 62 mm Hg). After administration of cytoreductive therapy, the leukocyte count reached a nadir of 3,500/cu mm. Arterial Po 2 determinations at this time were normal. No evidence of lung involvement by the underlying disease could be demonstrated. Our patient