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Background: Pancytopenia refers to a reduction in all the three cellular elements of blood. The aim of this study was to identify the various causes of pancytopenia in patients attending to Manipal teaching hospital in Pokhara. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, carried out in Manipal teaching hospital from August 2008 to August 2010. Fifty-four patients with pancytopenia were included in the study. Complete blood count, bone marrow aspirations and trephine biopsies were performed. Data were analyzed using SPSS 11.0 version. Results: Out of 54 cases, there were 16 cases (29.60%) of hypoplastic bone marrow, 15 cases (27.78%) of hematological malignancies, 13 cases (24.10%) of megaloblastic anemia, 4 cases (11.11%) of erythroid hyperplasia and 6 cases (7.41%) of normcellular bone marrow. Acute myeloid leukemia was the commonest hematological malignancy. Conclusion: The commonest cause of pancytopenia in our study was hypoplastic bone marrow followed by hematological malignancies and megaloblastic anemia. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v2i3.6023 JPN 2012; 2(3): 207-210

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Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) has been treated by a variety of surgical approaches like twist drill craniostomy (TDC), burr hole craniostomy (BHC), craniotomy, etc. There are large variations in cure rates and recurrence rates among the surgical options in literature and like all surgical techniques, there is a paucity of well-designed trials to sort out the issue. It is an accepted fact of surgery that the least invasive approach will often be the best approach. We set out with the hypothesis that TDC is as safe and as effective as BHC for CSDH treatment. A prospective randomized controlled trial for 100 patients was done to compare the results of TDC and BHC (both with drain) in patients of unilateral CSDH. Recurrence rate was the primary outcome variable evaluated. A strict clinic-radiological criteria was used to avoid ambiguity in the study. Forty-eight patients underwent TDC and 52 patients underwent BHC. Mortality was 2% (patients in low GCS), and 2% unexpected mortality occurred (unrelated causes). Complication rate was 14% overall and was similar in both groups. Overall outcome (primary and secondary) was comparable across both groups with no significant difference. Cost, invasiveness and duration of surgery was significantly less in the TDC group. The cure rate, recurrence rate, mortality and morbidity of TDC with drain is significantly similar to that of BHC with drain for treatment of defined patients of unilateral sub-acute and chronic subdural hematoma. The cost, duration and invasiveness of TDC surgery is significantly less than that for BHC surgery.