PANCYTOPENIA: A REPORT OF 251 CASES

Introduction: Pancytopenia develops due to vitamin deficiencies, hematologic, gastrointestinal, endocrine diseases, and infections.We aimed to investigate the etiological causes of pancytopenia in one-year period.Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, etiological causes of pancytopenia were investigated in patients who wereadmitted to the hematology and internal diseases clinics of Ministry of Health Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital in 2012.Results: Of 251 patients with pancytopenia who were evaluated, 131 cases were male. The mean age was 58,73±17,70 years.Etiological causes of pancytopenia were categorized as four main groups, including hematological diseases in 94 patients (37.5%),hypersplenism in 72 patients (28.7%), vitamin B12 deficiency in 46 patients (18.3%), and other causes (autoimmune diseases, infections,etc.) in 39 patients (15.5%). The most common cause of pancytopenia was hypersplenism (n: 72, 28%), followed by vitaminB12 deficiency (n: 46, 18%), acute myeloid leukemia (n: 32, 12%), respectively.Conclusion: Hypersplenism is the most common cause of pancytopenia, even though cause of hypersplenism cannot be foundout in half of all patients. Vitamin B 12 deficiency is a common cause that could be diagnosed with complete blood count and serumB 12 level, and be treated within a short time after a supplement or B12 injections, or a high-dose oral vitamin B12 treatment. HIVshould be investigated in young patients. Hematological diseases and cancers are more observed in male patients older than sixtyyears.