Abstract
Background: A spectrum of primary and secondary disorders that affect the bone marrow may manifestwith pancytopenia. This study was carried out to identify the various causes of pancytopenia in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Lalitpur, Nepal.Materials and Methods: A descriptive study of 83 cases of pancytopenia was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal over a two year period from August 2010 to July 2012.Results: Eighty three patients underwent bone marrow examination. Mean age of the patients was 34 years (range: 4 to 75 years). Maximum number of patients (31.33%) was seen in the age group of 16 - 30 years. The commonest cause of pancytopenia was megaloblastic anemia which was seen in 34.94% (29/83) cases followed by aplastic anemia and hematological malignancies in 31.32% (26/83) and 14.46% (12/83) cases, respectively.Conclusion: This study concluded that megaloblastic anemia and aplastic anemia were the two most common causes of pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration is an established diagnostic modality in the evaluation of pancytopenia.Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2015) Vol. 5, 691 - 695
Highlights
Pancytopenia is a descriptive term referring to a reduction in all three blood cell lineages: erythrocytes, leucocytes, and platelets
Cases fulfilling the definition of pancytopenia but lacking marrow representative bone marrow in the marrow aspirate were excluded from the study
A total of 83 cases presenting of pancytopenia were included in the study
Summary
Pancytopenia is a descriptive term referring to a reduction in all three blood cell lineages: erythrocytes, leucocytes, and platelets. A spectrum of primary and secondary disorders that affect the bone marrow may manifest with pancytopenia.[2] The presenting symptoms are often attributable to the anemia or thrombocytopenia. Determination of the underlying etiopathology of pancytopenia is crucial as it determines the management and prognosis of the patients. Bone marrow examination is extremely useful in the evaluation of pancytopenia. The present study was undertaken to identify the various causes of pancytopenia in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Lalitpur, Nepal. A spectrum of primary and secondary disorders that affect the bone marrow may manifest with pancytopenia. This study was carried out to identify the various causes of pancytopenia in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Lalitpur, Nepal
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