Clinicohematological Study of Pancytopenia in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Western Region of Nepal

Introduction: Pancytopenia is a relatively common hematological entity and is a manifestation of many illnesses which can be life threatening at times. The severity of pancytopenia and the underlying pathology determine the management and prognosis. This study was conducted to evaluate hematological and bone marrow findings in patients presenting with pancytopenia. Methods: It was a prospective study carried out in Department of Pathology, Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, during the period of January 2011 to December 2016. Clinical and hematological parameters including bone marrow aspiration and biopsy were evaluated in all patients who presented with pancytopenia. Results: Among 138 cases studied, patient’s age ranged from 2 to 82 years with a mean age of 43.95 years, and there was male predominance. Most of the patients presented with generalized weakness, pallor, dypnoea and fever. Hypoplastic marrow was seen in 38(27.5%) cases, followed by megaloblastic anemia 26 (18.8%) cases and acute leukemia 19(13.76%) cases. Other findings included one each case of hemophagocyosis, leishmaniasis, plasmodium vivex malaria and metastatic carcinoma. Conclusions: This study highlights that pancytopenia is a common hematological problem and the study of detailed primary hematological investigations along with bone marrow study in patients with pancytopenia will help to identify the cause for further planning and management. Keywords: hypoplastic marrow; leukemia; megaloblastic anemia; pancytopenia