A prospective study of morphological pattern of anaemia at a tertiary care centre

Introduction: Anemia most often a sign of an acquired or genetic abnormality. It is one of the commonest manifestations of the underlying medical condition. Anemia functionally defined as an insufficient RBC mass to adequately deliver oxygen to peripheral tissues. Hemoglobin concentration estimation is the ideal and convenient way of detecting Anemia. Materials and Methods: A hospital based prospective observational study was carried out at Department of Pathology, Viswabharathi Medical College and General Hospital, R.T Nagar, Penchikalapadu, Kurnool from January 2020 to December 2020. 250 patients were evaluated for morphological pattern of anaemia based on red cell indices, peripheral smear, and leukocyte and platelet parameters. Anaemia was defined according to WHO criteria as haemoglobin concentration lower than 13 g/dL in men and 12 g/dL in women. Informed consent was obtained from patients. Results: The results of complete blood count (CBC) and peripheral blood picture (PBP) showed that 73 (29%), 137 (55%), and 40 (16%) of the patients had normocytic normochromic, microcytic hypochromic and macrocytic pattern of anaemia respectively. The gender wise classification of the patterns revealed that 44 male patients and 29 female patients had normocytic normochromic patterns, while 105 female patients and 33 male patients had microcytic hypochromic patterns whereas 22 males patients and 18 case of female patients showed macrocytic pattern. Conclusion: The microcytic hypochromic pattern of anaemia is highly frequent among this sample of patients while the macrocytic pattern of anaemia is the lowest. According to gender groups, microcytic hypochromic pattern of anaemia is more common among females; malnutrition, increase of blood loss due to pregnancy or menstruation, and lack of iron absorption are the main causes, while the normocytic normochromic anaemia is highly prevalent among males, which is mainly due to blood loss or chronic diseases