Atifa Shuaib, Muhammad Omer, Sameeya Naeemullah, Zahid Latir.
Pure red cell aplasia — A single centre experience..
Pak J Pathol Jan ;16(1):10-3.

Obiective: To determine the frequency of Pure Red Cell Aplasia (PRCA) in patients referred to Haematology Department of Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi for bone marrow examination. Design: Single center descriptive study. Place and period of study: The study was conducted at the Haematology Department of Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi from 1st January 1999 to 31st September 2004. Patients and methods: All patients referred to this department for bone marrow were included in this study. They comprised both male and female subjects of all ages. After taking a detailed history and conducting a complete physical examination blood samples were taken for complete blood picture. Bone marrow aspiration was done on all patients and trephine biopsies were taken only where indicated. Results: Total of 1724 bone marrow aspirations biopsies were performed during this period, of which. 13 (0.75 %) were diagnosed as Pure Red Cell Aplasia. 08/13 (61.5 %) were males and 05/13 (38.4 %) were females. The age range was from 1-52 years. Maximum number of patients belonged to 15-30 years age group. 01/13 (7.7%) was diagnosed as Diamond Blackfan Anaemia CDBA2, 03/13 (23%) were associated with viral hepatitis. 04/13 (30.7%) cases had developed after some viral infection other than viral hapatitis. 01/13 (7.7%) had immune mediated PRCA, developing during the course of DAT positive hemolytic anaemia. 04/13 (30.7%) were idiopathic in origin. DBA patients initially responded well to corticosteroids but later developed resistance to steroids and became transfusion dependent. 02/13 (15.4%) patients also showed a good initial response to corticosteroid therapy and thus were labelled as Acute PRCA. 02/13 (15.4%) recovered spontaneously after diagnosis. Both these cases were children and thus diagnosed as cases of Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood.(TEC). Conclusion: PRCA is a rare disorder with a frequency of 0.75%. It is most commonly encountered in young adults secondary to a viral infection. Hepatitis is a major health hazard in our society and may play a significant role in the etiology of PRCA our patients.

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