Aplastic Anemia in a Developing Country: The Present and the Need

Abstract

Introduction: Aplastic anemia (AA) a rare, yet a life threatening hematological disorder. Aplastic anemia if untreated results in very high mortality. Early diagnosis of Aplastic anemias is essential for appropriate management of the patient. Aim: The aim of the study was to know the incidence of the disorder at our institution and categorize the patients into AA of varying severity aiding in their management protocol. Materials and Methods: Study was conducted retrospectively between January 2011 to June 2012, and prospectively from july 2012 to December 2013 in the Department of Pathology at our institution. The peripheral blood, bone marrow aspiration and biopsy were slides assessed for various hematological parameters. Results: Aplastic anemia has a male preponderance and bi modal age distribution. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were the commonest clinical manifestations. 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 providing an apt patient management. Thus, management of aplastic anemia in a developing country is definitely a challenging task. It is the need of the hour that tertiary centers such as ours create awareness amongst the general population and develop hospital policies for a holistic approach in the management of aplastic anemia.

Keywords

• biopsy
• bone marrow aspiration
• severity