Review of bone marrow examinations at sandman teaching hospital, Quetta

ABSTRACT

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan and has only one teaching hospital in Quetta, which serves people from all over the province, and also from Afghanistan. As yet there is no reported incidence of prevalence of "Bone Marrow disorder" in this part of the country. The present analysis is of 191 bone marrow examinations done in 1 1/2 year in this hospital, included 128 males [67%] and 63 females [33%]. Out of these 113 [59%] were adults and 78[41%] childen. Leukemias were the most frequent diagnosis in our patients. The total number was 40 [21%] which included 20 cases of ALL [L1=6, L2=11, L3=3] and 7 cases of AML [M1=1, M2=1, M3=1, M4=3 M6=1]. There was no case of M5 and M7. All the 27 cases of acute leukaemia presented with anemia; 25 showed thrombocytopenia and in only 2 cases platelets were normal. Leucocytosis was found in 8 cases, leucopenia in 12 and TLC was normal in 7 cases. Twelve [44%] patients presented with pancytopenia. Out of 40 there were 11 cases of CML and 2 cases of CLL. Two patients of CML later went into blast crisis. In all the cases of malaria, Gametocytes of P.falciparum were found in Bone marrow and out of them, 5 had negative P/Smear for MP. All cases of Kala-azar presented with pancytopenia. In Aplastic anemia, myelofibrosis and metastatic disease of Bone marrow, diagnosis was made after doing bone marrow Trephine. Metastasis was from Ca prostate. Both patients of essential thrombocythaemia had platelet count of more than 1 million. Of the 2 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome one was RAEBt and other was RAEB