Case report: Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome secondary to PEG-asparaginase-induced hypertriglyceridemia and pancreatitis

Pegylated (PEG)-asparaginase is an established treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemias that exhibits an antitumor effect by depleting asparagine, an amino acid essential for leukemia cell protein synthesis. Pancreatitis with hypertriglyceridemia is a well-established toxidrome associated with PEG-asparaginase. However, impaired pancreatic synthetic function and hormone release have rarely been reported as a result of PEG-asparaginase pancreatitis. In this report, we present a 22-year-old woman recently diagnosed with T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), who presented to the hospital with progressive weakness, confusion, blurry vision, hallucinations, and abdominal pain after induction treatment with daunorubicin, vincristine, PEG-asparaginase, and dexamethasone following the AYA protocol. She was found to have hypertriglyceridemia, acute pancreatitis, and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome. While pancreatitis and hypertriglyceridemia are commonly reported side effects of PEG-asparaginase, HHS related to these conditions has been sparsely reported. Providers should maintain awareness of this association and consider routine serial glucose monitoring of patients receiving PEG-asparaginase.