Pancytopenia: Clinical Approach
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CHAPTER Pancytopenia: Clinical approach 95 Ajai Kumar Garg, AK Agarwal, GD Sharma INTRODUCTION normal adult marrow produces about 170x109 RBC, Pancytopenia is a common haematological condition often 100x109 neutrophils, and 200x109 platelets daily. Defects encountered in day to day clinical practice. It is defined in the stem cells or in the stroma or microenvironment as a decrease in all the three cell lines of blood viz., red of bone marrow can lead to bone marrow failure and blood cells, leucocytes, and platelets. Many diseases affect pancytopenia. production of these cells by bone marrow resulting into Pancytopenia is not a disease by itself but a triad of pancytopenia i.e., simultaneous presence of anaemia, haematological finding that can result from a number of leucopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Pancytopenia is disease processes (Tables 1 & 2). It can be a feature of many defined as haemoglobin of < 9 gm/dl, WBC < 4,000/cmm, serious and life threatening illnesses like drug induced and platelets < 100,000/cmm. Severe pancytopenia is bone marrow hypoplasia, fatal bone marrow aplasia, and defined as absolute neutrophil count < 500/cmm, platelet leukaemias. It can result from failure of production of count < 20,000/cmm, and corrected reticulocyte count < stem cells in bone marrow, infiltration of bone marrow 1%. by malignant cells or fibrosis, immune mediated bone Presenting symptoms of pancytopenia may be attributable marrow suppression, ineffective erythropoiesis and to anaemia, leucopenia, and/or thrombocytopenia. dysplasia, peripheral sequestration of blood cells by Anaemia may present with fatigue, breathlessness, and overactive reticuloendothelial system, and immune or cardiac symptoms. Neutropenia may present with febrile non-immune mediated increased destruction of blood illness due to increased susceptibility to infections. cells. Marrow damage may be caused by infiltration Patients with thrombocytopenia may present with of marrow with tumour or fibrosis that crowds normal mucocutaneous bleed or bruising. Pancytopenia should marrow cells. Tumour or fibrosis that infiltrates the be suspected on clinical grounds in any patient presenting marrow may originate in the marrow as in leukaemia with unexplained anaemia, prolonged fever and bleeding or myelofibrosis or be secondary to process originating tendency. The severity of pancytopenia and underlying outside marrow as in metastatic cancer or myelophthisis. aetiology determine the management and prognosis. Incidence of various disorders causing pancytopenia Pancytopenia usually presents with the clinical sign varies according to geographical distribution and genetic and symptoms of bone marrow failure such as pallor, mutations. Main causes of pancytopenia in our country easy fatigability, dyspnoea, bleeding or bruising, and are megaloblastic anaemia due to nutritional deficiencies, increased tendency to infection. As platelets have shortest hypersplenism (congestive splenomegaly, malaria, half life, platelet count is first to be affected leading to and leishmaniasis), aplastic anaemia, myelodysplastic thrombocytopenia. Mucocutaneous bleed is typical syndrome, subleukaemic leukaemias, military manifestation of decreased platelet count with petechial tuberculosis, multiple myeloma, paroxysmal nocturnal haemorrhages in the skin and mucous membrane. haemoglobinuria. Epistaxis, haematuria, gastrointestinal bleeding, According to a study of 200 cases of pancytopenia menorrhagia, and rarely intracranial bleeding are the conducted by Khunger et al at a large general hospital presenting features of thrombocytopenia. Anaemia in North India, the commonest cause found was develops slowly because RBC has longest half life. Early megaloblastic anaemia seen in 72% cases, followed manifestation of neutropenia is often a sore throat, or chest by aplastic anaemia (14%). The other causes included or soft tissue infection with poor response to antibiotics. subleukaemic leukaemia (10 cases), myelodysplastic Patients with pancytopenia may develop overwhelming syndrome (4 cases), hypersplenism due to kala azar sepsis without any focal sign of infection, with malaise (4 cases), hypersplenism due to malaria (2 cases), Non- and fever being the only clinical features. Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myelofibrosis, multiple myeloma AETIOLOGY OF PANCYTOPENIA (2 cases each), Waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia and disseminated tuberculosis (1 case each). In another Normal marrow has tremendous capacity to increase prospective study of 104 pancytopenic patients conducted the output of peripheral blood cells whenever necessary by Gayatri and Rao at a teaching institute in South India for with the help of growth factors and cytokines. All the a period of two years, commonest cause of pancytopenia peripheral cells arise from common progenitor pluripotent was megaloblastosis (74%) followed by aplastic anaemia cells having enormous capacity of self renewal. The (18%). 451 In another prospective study of 250 cases of pancytopenia subcontinent. Vitamin B12 deficiency may also cause conducted by Jain and Naniwadekar at a tertiary care subacute combined degeneration of cord and psychiatric hospital in Maharashtra hypersplenism (29.2%), infections illness (megaloblastic madness). The degree of bone (25.6%), myelosuppression (16.8%), megaloblastosis marrow suppression is inversely related to presence and (13.2%), and hypoplastic/aplastic anaemia (4.8%) were severity of neurological dysfunction. The coexistence of found to be the common causes of pancytopenia. In this significant anaemia and neurological deficit is thought to study a male preponderance was observed, male to female be rare. ratio being 2.6:1 and majority of cases were encountered in third and fourth decade of life. In an analysis of 166 Hypersplenism cases of pancytopenia conducted by Kumar et al at two Hypersplenism is characterized by splenomegaly, tertiary care hematology centers where patients receiving cytopenia(s), normal or hyperplastic bone marrow, myelotoxic chemotherapy or those with leukaemic cells and a response to splenectomy. In hypersplenism CHAPTER 95 in peripheral blood smears were excluded from the there is peripheral pooling and destruction of cells study, it was observed that aplastic anaemia (49 cases) in enlarged spleen resulting in pancytopenia. Causes was most common cause followed by megaloblastic of hypersplenism include congestive splenomegaly anaemia (37cases), aleukaemic leukaemia or lymphoma (cirrhosis, congestive heart failure), malaria, hyperreactive (30 cases), and hypersplenism (19 cases). Megaloblastosis malarial splenomegaly, leishmaniasis, thalassaemia, was not commonest cause of pancytopenia in these series and Hodgkin’s disease. Hypersplenism can rarely be probably because many cases of megaloblastic anaemia idiopathic. need not be referred to a tertiary care centre and could Infections easily be treated at general hospitals. Haematologic abnormalities have been frequently OVERVIEW OF COMMON CAUSES OF PANCYTOPENIA observed in patients with HIV infection. Pancytopenia is usually seen in advanced stage of HIV infection. Aetiology Megaloblastic anaemia (Tables 3 & 4) of pancytopenia in advanced HIV stage is multi-factorial Megaloblastic haematopoiesis is a hypercellular bone marrow failure due to deficiency of vitamin 12B (cobalamin) and folate. These nutrients have important Table 2: Causes of pancytopenia with hypocellular marrow role in synthesis of DNA. Megaloblastic anaemia is a Acquired aplastic anemia predominant cause of pancytopenia in India because Congenital aplastic anaemia (Fanconi’s anaemia) of high prevalence of nutritional anaemia in Indian Some myelodysplasias Acute myeloid leukaemia Table 1: Causes of pancytopenia with cellular bone marrow Acute lymphoid leukaemia Primary bone marrow Secondary to systemic disease disease Lymphoma of bone marrow Myelodysplasia Vitamin B12 deficiency, folate deficiency Table 3: Causes of Vitamin B12 deficiency Paroxysmal nocturnal Hypersplenism Food Decreased consumption-vegan diet, haemoglobinuria cobalamin malabsorption (common in elderly) Myelophthisis Alcoholism Stomach Pernicious anaemia, atrophic gastritis, Myelofibrosis Sepsis, enteric fever gastrectomy, gastric bypass, H. pylori Subleukaemic HIV infection, hepatitis B, infection, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome leukaemia hepatitis C, Ebstein-Barr virus, Intestine Chronic pancreatitis, tropical sprue, celiac cytomegalovirus disease, ileal resection, fish tapeworm Bone marrow Malaria, leishmaniasis, infestation, bacterial overgrowth lymphoma filariasis syndrome, HIV infection Hairy cell leukaemia Systemic lupus erythematosus, Drugs Metformin, Proton pump inhibitors, H 2 sarcoidosis blockers Table 4: Causes of folate deficiency Nutritional deficiency Dietary deficiency Increased requirements Infancy and childhood, pregnancy, malignancy, chronic haemolytic anaemia, chronic exfoliative dermatitis, chronic inflammatory disorders (tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease), CHF, chronic liver disease, haemodialysis, homocystinuria Malabsorption Tropical and non-tropical sprue, gluten sensitive enteropathy Drugs Antiepileptic drugs, methotrexate, pyrimethamine, alcohol Congenital Abnormalities of folate metabolism 452 in nature and includes high viral load, use of antiretroviral Acute leukaemias therapy, and presence of acute or chronic opportunistic Acute myeloid leukaemia occurs in all age group but infection. Viral hepatitis has been known to cause predominantly in older adults. Acute lymphoblastic transient pancytopenia