| Popis: |
Hematological manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are very common. Blood dyscrasias and other hematological abnormalities are sometimes the rst sign of rheumatic disease. In addition, novel anti-rheumatic biological agents may cause cytopenias. It is crucial that hematologists be aware of these presentations so that they are diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. A logical approach using easily available tests should allow straightforward decisions about diagnosis and therapy to be made, even in patients with some of the rarer hematological manifestations. An observational study was done in RA patients in a tertiary care hospital to study the prevalence and the type of hematologic manifestations from a pathologist's perspective. It was observed that anemia is the most common hematologic nding seen in RA, iron deciency being the commonest cause of anemia, however hemolytic anemia was not seen. Leucocytosis was more common with predominant neutrophilia. Elevated platelet count, bicytopenia and pancytopenia were observed in RA along with raised ESR. Coagulation parameters were however within normal range. Bone marrow ndings (where studied) included tuberculosis and plasma cell neoplasm. Summary: This study was conducted to estimate the proportion of patients with hematological abnormalities as the manifestation of RA and to study the nature of these various hematological problems, so that the empirical treatment can be started and also to inform the clinical rheumatologists about the common and rarer hematological manifestations of RA. |
