Publication:

A study of etiological and clinico-hematological profile of pancytopenia in children in a tertiary care hospital

Background Pancytopenia is a disorder in which all three major formed elements of blood are reduced below the lower limit of normal for the age and sex. Pancytopenia is a striking feature of many serious life-threatening illnesses ranging from simple drug-induced bone marrow hypoplasia, and megaloblastic anemia to fatal bone marrow aplasia and leukemias. In India, pancytopenia causes vary and still are more varied among the pediatric population. So, the present study was carried out to evaluate the various causes and clinic-hematological factors of pancytopenia in the pediatric age group.

Methods It was a hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study conducted in the department of pediatrics, SVPPGIP & SCB Medical College, Cuttack from September 2016 to October 2018. A total of 106 children between 6 months to 18 years with Pancytopenia were enrolled in our study. Bone marrow aspiration was conclusive in most of the cases. All data were analyzed using SPSS. Chi-square test was used to analyze any association and a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.

Results Out of 106 patients, the majority were 10-14 years old. Female to male ratio was 1.4:1. The most common etiological factors were ALL (58.5%), Aplastic Anemia (19.8%), and others. Fever and Weight loss were the most common presenting symptoms. The most common signs were Pallor and Hepatomegaly.

Conclusions The present study concludes that detailed primary hematological investigations along with bone marrow aspiration are really helpful for understanding the disease process, diagnosing the etiology of pancytopenia, and helpful in planning further investigations and management of pancytopenia patients.