Background: It is important to screen the population for early detection of haematological diseases, so as to avoid grievous consequences. This study was undertaken in a tertiary care centre to determine the impact of such diseases, especially leukemias and anaemias in general population. 

Subjects and Methods: This was a 6 months prospective study which was undertaken on 1764 patients who on complete blood count (CBC) analysis presented with low haemoglobin or abnormal leukocyte and platelet counts. The CBC, peripheral smear (PS) and bone marrow evaluation were done subsequently.

Results: In our study, 54 patients were diagnosed with leukemia, among them 9/54 had normal total leukocyte count at presentation while 6/54 patients had pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration was done in 23 patients. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was found to be the most common leukemia in 0-10 years age group; chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was common in 31-40 years age group while chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was common in >50 years age group. Overall, unclassified leukemias (n=28) were the most commonly reported leukemia. The most common anemia was microcytic hypochromic anaemia. Male: female ratio in leukemia was found to be 1.84:1. Thrombocytopenia was present in 37% of all leukemic patients.

Conclusion: The proper and thorough investigational approach is needed for early diagnosis of anaemias and leukemias which in a true sense are potentially curable and often preventable entities. The value of basic investigations such as CBC and PS evaluation cannot be underestimated and at times becomes the most crucial to screen the population for the presence or absence of such deadly haematological disorders.

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Dr Aditi Das

Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College, Raipur (C.G), India