Could there be a pathogenetic association between Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)? A case report from health-resource poor setting

Abstract

Both Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) are relatively common in childhood. While the former is congenital, the latter is usually acquired. Diagnosis and thorough profiling of patient with ALL remains a great challenge in most resource poor settings including our hospital. Despite the high prevalence of these conditions in our environment, there is no previously reported case of the two coexisting in an individual based on our literature search. We report a ten-year old boy in whom ALL unmasked the diagnosis of VSD and non-availability of diagnostic facilities prevented exploring any possible pathogenetic relationship between the two conditions in case of its existence.