CLINICAL AND AETIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF PANCYTOPENIA IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: To find the frequency of various clinical features and the underlying causes of pancytopenia in patients reporting to a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi. Study Design: Cross sectional observational study. Place and duration of study: This study was conducted in the Department of Haematology (Pathology), Army Medical College, Rawalpindi from January 2014 to December 2014. Patients and methods: Patients of all age groups having pancytopenia were included. Documentation of patients’ history and physical examination was done. Complete blood counts were done using automated blood analyzer. Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy were done following standard protocols and were evaluated microscopically for determining the cause of pancytopenia. Results: During study duration, 330 patients were received from different units of tertiary care hospital for bone marrow examination and 70 (21.2%) patients were found to have pancytopenia. Commonest clinical features were pallor seen in 61 (87.14%) patients followed by fever and lassitude noted in 42 (60%) patients each. Commonest causes of pancytopenia found were megaloblastic anaemia and aplastic anaemia in 18 (25.71%) and 15 (21.42%) patients respectively. Conclusion: Pancytopenia is observed as quite a common finding in our patient population. Megaloblastic anaemia is the commonest cause of pancytopenia followed by aplastic anaemia.