PANCYTOPENIA;

Background: Pancytopenia is an important hematological problem encounteredin our day-to-day clinical practice. The aim of our study was to evaluate clinical features andetiological pattern of pancytopenia at tertiary care settings in Abbottabad. Methods: Thisprospective study was conducted at Northern Institue of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and AyubTeaching Hospital Abbottabad from 25th August 2009 to 31st July 2010. A total of 85 patientsfulfilling the criteria of pancytopenia were randomly selected by time-based sampling.Pancytopenia was diagnosed by anemia (hemoglobin ≤ 10.0g/dl), leucopenia (WBC ≤ 4.0×109/L)and thrombocytopenia (platelets ≤ 150×109/L). All data has been entered and analyzed by SPSSversion 10.0. Results: Out of 85 patients, 62(72.94%) were males and 23(27.05%) females withM to F ratio of 2.69:1. The mean age (±SD) of males was 30.20±15.42 years, while that of females35.12±16.31 years (p=0.20). Among clinical features, anemia and generalized weakness werethe commonest (97.64%), followed by shortness of breath (88.23%). Majority 54(63.52%) hadnon-malignant disorders responsible for pancytopenia. Overall, the most common cause ofpancytopenia was aplastic anemia noted in 30(35.29%) cases, followed by megaloblastic anemia15(17.64%) and hypersplenism in 13(15.29%). Conclusions: On conclusion, aplastic anemiawas the most common cause of pancytopenia in our study predominantly affecting young adultmales. It