A Study of Pallor in Elderly- Haematological Profile

Abstract

BACKGROUND Anaemia in the elderly (age > 65 years) is defined as a haemoglobin concentration below 12 gm/dL and 13 gm/dL in women and men respectively. This decrease in oxygen carrying capacity can lead to overall decline in physical quality of life, disability and hospitalisation at higher rates than those without anaemia. In elderly population anaemia is often taken as one of the age-related changes, which is not a correct approach as anaemia can never be a normal physiological phenomenon. In order to highlight this problem, this study was undertaken on patients attending a tertiary care hospital. The objectives of the study are-1. To study the clinical profile of elderly patients with anaemia. 2. To study the haematological characteristics to know the patterns of anaemia in elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODSA descriptive study was conducted to study the clinical profile and the haematological characteristics to know the patterns of anaemia in elderly patients approaching Department of Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Kottayam during a period of 12 months (May 2015 -May 2016. Statistical analysis was done with available software. RESULTSAmong the 350 patients examined, easy fatigability was the presenting symptom of most of the patients. The patients had varied physical examination findings corresponding to their underlying disease. Haematological profile showed that most of the patients had Grade 1 anaemia and normocytic normochromic blood picture on peripheral smear examination. CONCLUSIONNormocytic normochromic anaemia is the most common pattern on peripheral blood smear of elderly anaemic patients. The findings are comparable to other Indian studies on this subject. KEYWORDSAnaemia; Elderly; Clinical Profile; Haematology Approach. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Fernandez SS, Prabhalakshmi KK, Sankar S. A study of pallor in elderly-haematological profile. J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci. 2017;6(92):6630-6638, DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2017/1437 BACKGROUND In the geriatric age group, usually patients present with common symptoms like fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath; that is why in geriatric age group anaemia is usually ignored by the physicians, confirming the patterns of anaemia is critical to direct the investigation for profiling the aetiology since it is well known that the treatment of anaemia goes a long way in improving the overall outcome and quality of life. Failure to evaluate anaemia in elderly could lead to delayed diagnosis of potentially treatable conditions. 1 However, there are at least two reasons for considering anaemia in the elderly as a sign of disease. First, most of the older people maintain a normal red cell count, haemoglobin and haematocrit. Second, in most elderly patients an underlying cause of anaemia is found for haemoglobin of less 'Financial or Other Competing Interest': None. Submission 12-10-2017, Peer Review 18-11-2017, Acceptance 23-11-2017, Published 04-12-2017. Corresponding Author: Dr. Prabhalakshmi K. K, Department of Pathology, Government Medical College, Kotta...