Clinico - Pathological profiles of pancytopenia in University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia : a retrospective cross-sectional, 2018-2021

Abstract Introduction: Pancytopenia can be caused by a wide variety of etiologies, leading to a diagnostic dilemma. These etiologies range from congenital bone marrow failure to marrow space-occupying lesions, infection, and peripheral destruction, to name a few. Bone marrow examination, in addition to a detailed clinical history, is often required for an accurate diagnosis. This study aimed to provide a brief overview of causes of pancytopenia in adults and children by age and sex with emphasis on bone marrow findings. Methods: A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to January 2021 in the Department of Pathology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia based on bone marrow aspiration finding results. Results: There were 720 patients who had pancytopenia, 548(76%) were males and 172(24%) were females. The most common cause of pancytopenia in our study was megaloblastic anemia 385(53.5%) followed by Hyperreactive Malarial Splenomegaly 170(23.6%), leukemia 70(9.7%), VL 40(5.6%), aplastic anemia and stage IV RVI per se each 20(2.8%) and others 15(2.1%). Most age group affected by pancytopenia were 11–30 yrs and the most common presenting symptom and sign was fatigue and splenomegaly respectively. Conclusions: This study showed that the most common cause of pancytopenia was megaloblastic anemia and that is reversible by therapy. Thus in pancytopenia, thorough evaluation has to be done to identify the cause at the earliest, so the treatable causes are identified without delay and the patient is benefited.