Etiology of Pancytopenia in Adult Population by Bone Marrow Examination - A Description Study

Pancytopenia is defined as reduction of all three formed elements of blood below the normal reference ranges. It is the manifestation of a number of disease processes affecting the bone marrow. Aim to identify the various causes of pancytopenia in adult population by bone marrow examination, then the most common cause of pancytopenia and to find the frequency of pancytopenia in relation to age and sex. This is two years description study. Peripheral smears, buffy coat smears, marrow aspiration smears and trephine biopsies of thirty six cases were studied. Special stain done for suspicious cases of leukemia and lymphoma. Relevant clinical history and investigations were collected. Megaloblastic anaemia was the most common cause of Pancytopenia followed by Aplastic anaemia. Most common age group between 51 to 60 years followed by 61-70 years. Female predominate with 21 cases and male 15 cases Hence Pancytopenia is basically a laboratory diagnosis. Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy are mandatory for the diagnosis of the various causes of pancytopenia. Comprehensive clinical and haematological study on pancytopenia cases is needed to identify the cause with certainty.