Diagnoses in patients with severe pancytopenia suspected of having aplastic anemia.

There were 100 patients with pancytopenia notified to the Swedish part of an international study of aplastic anemia (Aa) (1983-1986). Aa was the cause in 16 patients and 50 patients had different conditions explaining their pancytopenia, whereas in 34 patients no obvious explanation was found at the time of discovery of their pancytopenia. A follow-up study in 1987 comprised the patients with Aa (n = 16) and the patients with uncharacterized pancytopenia (n = 34.3 additional patients had then been diagnosed as having Aa whereas 3 patients had a diagnosis of a low-grade NHL and 8 patients a diagnosis of MDS. No (or an inadequate) bone marrow sample had been taken in 9 of the 34 patients. This study shows that pancytopenia may be found in many serious conditions. Patients with pancytopenia should be carefully followed as Aa can develop slowly and as the MDS diagnosis can be difficult to establish at an early stage.