Haematological neoplasms comprise a collection of heterogeneous neoplastic conditions that arise from cells of the bone marrow and lymphoid system. This study describes the pattern and distribution of haematological neoplasms at a tertiary hospital inNorthern Province,Sri Lanka.A descriptive retrospective audit was conducted ofall haematological neoplasms diagnosed by bone marrow and peripheral blood examination.A total of 435 haematological neoplasms were diagnosed and reported during the 4-year period. Acute myeloid leukaemia was the commonest haematological neoplasm, followed by plasma cell neoplasm myelodysplastic syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukaemia chronic myeloid leukaemia and chronic lymphocytic leuka emia. Male predominance was seen in most haematological neoplasms, compatible with local, regional, and global data. Female predilection was noted in essential thrombocythaemia, matching global trends, andin myelodysplastic syndrome, incontrast to global data. Acute myeloid leukaemia is the most common haematological neoplasm.

Background: Anaemia in older adults is a common medical problem but it is often not evaluated as a sole clinical entity and its importance is undermined. The gravity of anaemia in older adults and its impact on other diseases is not well known in Sri Lanka. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study where data was extracted retrospectively from the database and clinical records of patients who were referred to the haematology unit of Teaching Hospital Jaffna, Sri Lanka for the evaluation of anaemia, from September 2020 to February 2021. The common types of anaemia, their severity, aetiological classifications and association with other diseases were analysed. Results: A total of 1121 medical records of patients above 60 years were analysed during the study period. The main source of referrals was from medical wards. The female to male ratio was 51.2:48.8.The majority belonged to the age group of 60-69 years. Two-third of the patients had normocytic anaemia (70.3%) followed by microcytic (23.7%) and macrocytic anaemia (6.0%). A moderate degree of anaemia was seen commonly, but 28.3% were found to have severe anaemia. Aetiological classification revealed anaemia of chronic disease as the commonest type of anaemia in older adults accounting for 37% of the study sample, followed by multifactorial aetiology and iron deficiency anaemia. Common chronic diseases identified along with anaemia were diabetes, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and chronic kidney disease. Conclusions: Normocytic anaemia was the commonest type identified and the majority were of a moderate degree. Though the commonest aetiological cause identified is anaemia of chronic disease, there was a considerable percentage of multifactorial causes indicating the need to be on the lookout for other possibilities. Identifying the prevalence of anaemia in all hospitalised older adult patients in the local setting, the causes and the impact on chronic and acute illnesses will immensely help in the management of older adult patients and improve their quality of life.

Background:Anaemia in elderly is a common medical problem but it is often not evaluated as a sole clinical entity and the importance of anaemia is often neglected. The gravity of anaemia in elders and its impact on other diseases is not well known in Sri Lanka.Methods:It is a cross sectional descriptive study where data was extracted retrospectively from the data base and clinical records of patients who were referred to haematology unit of Teaching Hospital Jaffna, Sri Lanka for the evaluation of anaemia during September 2020 to February 2021.Common type of anaemia, severity, aetiological classifications and association with other diseases were analysed.Results:A total of 1121 elderly patients of above 60 years were analysed during the study period. Main source of referral was from medical wards. Female to male ratio was 51.2:48.8. Majority of them belonged to the age group of 60-69 years. Two third of the patients had normocytic anaemia (70.3%) followed by microcytic and macrocytic anaemia (23.7%). Moderate degree of anaemia was seen commonly in the patient’s analysed but 28.3% found to have severe anaemia. Aetiological classification revealed anaemia of chronic diseases as the commonest type of anaemia in elderly accounting for 37% followed by multifactorial aetiology and iron deficiency anaemia. Common chronic diseases identified along with anaemia were diabetes, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and chronic kidney disease.Conclusion:Normocytic anaemia is the commonest type of anaemia identified in this hospital based study and majority had a moderate degree of anaemia. Though the common aetiological cause identified is anaemia of chronic disease, there are significant percentage of multifactorial causes identified indicating a search of many possible causes are needed in elderly patients with anaemia. Identifying the prevalence of anaemia in all hospitalised elderly patients in the local setting, the causes and the impact on chronic and acute illnesses will immensely help in the management of elderly patients and to improve their quality of life.