Abstract

Introduction: Pancytopenia, simultaneous presence of anemia, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia, is a common manifestation of a wide variety of diseases arising from or involving the bone marrow. Evaluation of hematological parameters including peripheral blood film examination and bone marrow evaluation helps in identifying the cause in most of the cases.

Materials and Methods: A total of 143patients presenting with pancytopenia between Jan 2018 to Dec2018to the department of pathology were included in the study. Relevant clinical history and physical examination were taken. A complete Hemogram, peripheral blood film examination and bone marrow evaluation was done and results were observed and analyzed.

Results: The most of the patients were in age group of adolescents and young adults. There was a slight predisposition for female sex. On bone marrow aspiration, megaloblastic anemia was found to be the commonest cause of pancytopenia followed by dual deficiency anemia. Hematological malignancies constituted a significant cause with acute myeloid leukemia as the most common one. Aplastic anemia was seen in 5 cases. Bone marrow biopsy aided in diagnosis in a plastic anemia while in others it was concordant with aspiration findings.

Conclusion: Bone marrow evaluation is an important diagnostic tool in the evaluation of pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration gives diagnosis in majority of the cases; however, bone marrow trephine biopsy is helpful in many cases especially in cases of dry tap. Megaloblastic anemia is the commonest cause and a treatable one.

Keywords: Pancytopenia, Megaloblastic anemia, Bone marrow aspiration, Bone marrow trephine biopsy.