English

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pancytopenia is an important clinico-haematological entity encountered in our day to day clinical practice. It is defined as the reduction of all three formed elements of blood (erythrocytes, leucocytes and platelets) below the normal reference range leading to anaemia, leucopoenia and thrombocytopenia. OBJECTIVES : To study the etiologies, to assess the haematological and bone marrow changes and to correlate these changes with automated cell counter parameters in various causes of pancytopenia. Assessment of B12 and folic acid levels in cases of pancytopenia due to megaloblastic anemia. MATERIAL METHODS: It was a prospective study; all pancytopenic patients were evaluated clinically, along with automated cell counter parameters, bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsies in Department of Pathology, K.G.M.U, Lucknow from July 2011 to July 2012. RESULTS: Among 60 cases studied, maximum number of patients were in first decade of life. Most important cause of pancytopenia was aplastic anemia. Significant lymphocytosis was associated with aplastic anemia compared to other causes of pancytopenia. RDW-CV and Mean platelet volume is significantly increased in pancytopenia due megaloblastic anemia as compared to other causes of pancytopenia CONCLUSION : Pancytopenia is a common haematological problem encountered in clinical practice and should be suspected on clinical grounds when a patient presents with unexplained anaemia, prolonged fever and tendency to bleed. The present study concludes that detailed primary haematological investigations along with bone marrow aspiration in cytopenic patients are helpful for understanding the disease process to diagnose, or to rule out the causes of cytopenia, and in planning further investigations and management of cytopenic patients.