Frequency of Pancytopenia Among Patients With Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of pancytopenia among patients with vitamin B12 deficiency in a tertiary-care hospital, in Peshawar. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at the Department of Hematology, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from 18/4/2021 to 18/10/2021. In this study, a total of 252 patients were observed. From all patients, a sample of venous blood was obtained and sent to the hospital laboratory for the peripheral smear examination. Pancytopenia was diagnosed based on a peripheral smear showing Hemoglobin below 10g/dL, Total leukocyte counts less than 4,000 cells per mL, platelets count less than150,000 cells per mL, and reticulocyte count <2%. All the peripheral smears were done by an expert hematologist. Strictly exclusion criteria were followed to avoid cofounders and make the study results clear of any bias. Results: In this study mean age was 42 years with a standard deviation of ± 15.84. Thirty-eight percent of patients were males and 62% of patients were females. Moreover, 5% of patients had pancytopenia and 95% of patients didn’t have pancytopenia. Conclusion: The frequency of pancytopenia was 5% among the local patients with vitamin B12 deficiency. Keywords: pancytopenia, B12 deficiency, Peshawar, Pakistan.

Prevalence of Pancytopenia/ Bicytopenia in Pediatric Population and its Association with Etiology Based on Bone Marrow Findings

“…Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy become essential when the cause of bicytopenia and pancytopenia is not apparent from clinical history and examination. Bone marrow pictures may vary depending on etiology, from normocellular with nonspecific changes to hypercellular being replaced completely by malignant cells 2 .…”