Aplastic Anemia in Southern Odisha: An Institutional Study of Clinical and Hematological Features

Abstract

Introduction: Aplastic anemia is a potentially life-threatening failure of hematopoiesis, characterized by pancytopenia and hypocellular bone marrow. Aplastic anemia if untreated results in very high mortality. Early diagnosis of aplastic anemias is essential for appropriate management of the patient. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of the condition in southern Odisha admitted to this institute and to study the clinico-hematological profile for the assessment of severity by using the modified Camitta criteria aiding in their management protocol. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out prospectively in the Department of Pathology, MKCG Medical College & Hospital during the period of June 2017 to May 2019. A detailed clinical history, physical examination, Complete Blood Count, CPS, Reticulocyte count, Bone marrow aspiration and Biopsy were performed in each case and the observations were evaluated using simple and basic statistical tools. Results: There are 63 diagnosed cases of aplastic anemia during the study period. Out of 63 cases 36 cases are male (57.1%) and 27 cases are female (42.8 %) indicating a male preponderance of this disease and male to female ratio is1.3:1. We also found that, aplastic anemia has a bimodal age distribution. Fever, generalized weakness and bleeding due to thrombocytopenia are commonest clinical manifestations. All 63 cases are subcategorized into 38 Non severe cases (60.3%), 17 severe cases (26.9%) and 8 cases are very severe (12.7 %). Conclusion: A good knowledge on clinical and hematological parameters will certainly aid in early diagnosis of aplastic anemia and sub-categorization for treatment. But in a developing country financial constraints and lack of awareness forms a major drawback in patient management. So early diagnosis of aplastic anemia reduces the treatment cost as well as will decrease mortality.