Clinico-hematological profile and natural history of childhood myelodysplastic syndromes.

The clinical and hematological characteristics of ten children with myelodysplastic syndromes diagnosed and followed up over a 3 year period are presented. All of them had anemia and a low platelet count whilst the white blood cell count was variable. Presentation with bilateral proptosis and acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet's syndrome) were unique features observed in one case each. None of these cases could afford specific therapy and thus serve to illustrate the natural history of the disease in pediatric practice.