BACKGROUND Blood group plays a vital role in the field of transfusion medicine, forensic pathology, and is genetically determined. Some authors have found epistaxis to be more common in people with O blood group, while some other authors found no association. We assessed the effect of ABO blood group system on the bleeding time (BT) and clotting time (CT) of medical students. METHODS A total of 77 MBBS students consisting of 32 females and 45 males in the age group of 18-25 yrs. were selected. The exclusion criteria for selection of the students were any history of bleeding disorders and NSAID intake. Data was collected including age, sex, height and weight. Blood grouping and estimation of bleeding time and clotting time was done for all subjects. RESULTS The mean age of the 77 students was 19.4 ± 1.07 years. There were more males (58.41%) than females (41.6%) in the study group. The most common blood group was O +ve (29.9%) followed by B +ve (29.9%), A +ve (27.3%) and AB +ve (14.3%). There was no Rh-ve blood group. The mean BT in seconds was 151±33 (range 60 to 270). The mean CT was 224 ± 49 seconds (range 120 to 360). The BT and CT in all the subjects were found to be within normal range. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, O blood group was found to be the most common among the various blood groups in both males and females. Our study also shows a trend of longer BT in females and longer CT in females, but these were not statistically significant.

BACKGROUND Menstrual cycle is the cyclical phenomenon characterized by periodic vaginal bleeding. It influences all the system of the body. Menstruation occurs cyclically at intervals of 21-35 days. Uterine cycle includes menstruation, proliferative and secretory phases. It is due to invisible interplay of different levels of hormones mainly through hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian-axis. The physiological levels of oestrogen and progesterone influence the leucocyte count. Thus, change in the count might occur when the hormonal balance changes during menstrual cycle and most commonly the organs in the body remain unaffected by this hormonal imbalance. We wanted to study the age-related variations in total leucocyte, granulocyte and agranulocyte count during different phases of menstrual cycle in 1 st professional MBBS students at, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical sciences (JNIMS), Imphal, Manipur. METHODSIt is a longitudinal study. 50 healthy female medical students in the age group of 18-25 yrs. with regular cycles of 28±2 days duration participated in the study. Students with irregular cycles, gynaecological disorders like endometriosis, fibroid, irregular bleeding, history of prolonged drug intake and history of fever were excluded from the study. Study protocol was explained to the students and informed consent was obtained from each of the students. Institutional ethical committee clearance was obtained. First sample was collected within 48 hours of onset of menstruation, second sample during 8 th -10 th day of menstrual cycle. Third sample was taken during 22 nd -24 th day of menstrual cycle. All the subjects were followed up during a single cycle. Samples were taken in the morning between 9 am-10 am to avoid diurnal variation. Total leucocyte count was determined with Improved Neubauer's chamber using Turk's fluid. Granulocyte-and agranulocyte-count was determined using Leishman's stain under compound microscope. Total leukocyte count and granulocyte and agranulocyte cells were examined during a single cycle. Data collected was statistically analysed. RESULTSThere was increase in total leukocyte count in the 23-25 years age group in different phases of the menstrual cycle as compared to other age groups but was not statistically significant and increased granulocyte count was seen in both the aged groups (17-19), (23-25) years in all phases of menstrual cycle was statistically significant. Agranulocyte count was increased in 23-25 years age group in all phases but was not statistically significant.