Etiological profile of pancytopenia

INTRODUCTION Pancytopenia is a striking feature of many serious and life-threatening illnesses. It ranges from simple drug induced bone marrow hypoplasia and megaloblastic anemia to fatal aplastic anemia and leukemias. There is paucity of comprehensive studies and hence the causes of pancytopenia are not well defined. OBJECTIVE: To describe the etiological profile of pancytopenia MATERIALS AND METHODS: The was an observational study done in 85 patients who presented with pancytopenia to the department of General Medicine, Government Medical College Kottayam. The study was carried over a period of one year. The data were collected in a structured proforma and analyzed using SPSS version 24. RESULTS: The most common age group was 21-30 years 29 (34.1%) among the 85. 48 (56.5%) were males and 37(43.5%) were females. Megaloblastic anemia was the commonest etiology constituting 60(70.6%). The commonest presenting complaint was generalized weakness in 74 (87.1%). The most common clinical finding was pallor 77 (90.6%). The mean Hemoglobin level was 6.81 ± 1.51 g/dl, the mean Total WBC count was 2768.39 ± 791.2, the mean platelet count was 0.87 ± 0.43. Macrocytic anemia was the predominant blood picture in cytopenic patients. Hypercellular marrow was the most common marrow finding in 78.1% CONCLUSION: Megaloblastic anemia was the most common cause of pancytopenia followed by aplastic anemia in the present study. Clinical alertness and suspicion can assure early diagnosis and treatment