ABSTRACT
Pancytopenia is an important hematological problem encountered in our day-to-day clinical practice. The aim of our study was to evaluate clinical features and etiological pattern of pancytopenia at tertiary care settings in Abbottabad. This prospective study was conducted at Northern Institue of Medical Sciences [NIMS] and Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad from 25th August 2009 to 31st July 2010. A total of 85 patients fulfilling the criteria of pancytopenia were randomly selected by time-based sampling. Pancytopenia was diagnosed by anemia [hemoglobin = 10.0g/dl], leucopenia [WBC = 4.0_109/L] and thrombocytopenia [platelets = 150_109/L]. All data has been entered and analyzed by SPSS version 10.0. Out of 85 patients, 62[72.94%] were males and 23[27.05%] females with M to F ratio of 2.69:1. The mean age [ +/- SD] of males was 30.20 +/- 15.42 years, while that of females 35.12 +/- 16.31 years [p=0.20]. Among clinical features, anemia and generalized weakness were the commonest [97.64%], followed by shortness of breath [88.23%]. Majority 54[63.52%] had non-malignant disorders responsible for pancytopenia. Overall, the most common cause of pancytopenia was aplastic anemia noted in 30[35.29%] cases, followed by megaloblastic anemia 15[17.64%] and hypersplenism in 13[15.29%]. On conclusion, aplastic anemia was the most common cause of pancytopenia in our study predominantly affecting young adult males. It was mainly due to use of toxic and ban-drugs by quacks and general practitioners at their clinics
ABSTRACT
Retinopathy is one of the most frequent and serious complication of diabetes mellitus and leading cause of blindness worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine frequency and pattern of retinopathy in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients at tertiary care settings in Abbottabad. This was a descriptive cross-sectional comparative study being conducted at Ayub Teaching Hospital and Northern Institute of Medical Sciences Abbottabad. It included 100 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients who were attending diabetic clinics of these tertiary care hospitals. Already diagnosed type 2 patients taking anti-diabetic medication, type 1 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, retinal vasculitis, retinal vessel occlusion, and sickle cell retinopathy were excluded. After pupillary dilatation, detailed fundoscopic examination was carried out via direct ophthalmoscopy and further confirmed by an ophthalmologist. According to fundoscopic findings, retinopathy was graded into background, pre-proliferative and proliferative types. Total 100 patients were included, with mean age 45.1 +/- 3.2 years, 60% of them were females. Overall, 17% of type 2 diabetic patients had retinopathy within one month of diagnosis. Background retinopathy was predominant [12%] followed by pre-proliferative [4%] and proliferative [1%] lesions. Frequency of retinopathy in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients seems to be higher than previous reports and background lesions were predominant. Detailed fundoscopic examination of all newly type 2 diabetic patients at the time of diagnosis is of paramount importance.