Adult respiratory distress syndrome in neutropenic leukemia patients

Seven episodes of adult respiratory distress syndrome, occurring in leukemic patients with longstanding (average 11 days) and severe neutropenia (less than 0.1 x 10(9)/1) are described. Pathological and clinical data give further support to the view that the complement-neutrophil pathway is not the only mechanism in generating clinical ARDS in leukemia patients.