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What is pancytopenia?
Pancytopenia is a pathological condition in which the composition of all elements that form its composition (erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets and platelets) decreases in the circulating blood. It is caused by hypoplasia (decrease in the number of cellular elements of an organ or tissue) or aplasia (violation or cessation of regeneration of formed elements) of blood cells. Pancytopenia occurs as a result of extremely severe conditions of the body (radiation sickness, life-threatening infections, etc.)
With pancytopenia, the hematopoietic, immune and lymphatic systems suffer. Among the organs of the pathological process, the bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, and lymphoid tissues are most susceptible. Often pancytopenia is combined with dysplasia, hyperplasia, degeneration and necrosis of organs and tissues.
Causes of pancytopenia
Among the causes of pancytopenia, there may be a family disease – Fanconi anemia (a set of congenital anomalies, including bone marrow hypoplasia, idiopathic refractory anemia).
Aplastic anemia is also often accompanied by pancytopenia. These pathologies arise as a side effect of the use of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of malignant tumors. That is why pancytopenia is one of the most dangerous allergic homeopathies.
Harm can bring ionizing radiation that affects the bone marrow. Malignant blood diseases and tumors are also causes of pancytopenia (normal bone marrow replaces tumor metastases).
Often the cause of pancytopenia is osteoporosis: bone tissue is formed in excess, as a result of which the bone marrow cavities are overgrown. This leads to anemia and pancytopenia.
There is a group of accumulation (storage) diseases, which are a kind of inborn errors of metabolism. A certain enzyme may be insufficiently active or absent altogether, which leads to changes in the functions of the organ: a metabolic substrate (derivatives of glucose, glycogen and amino acids) accumulates in its cells. Due to the storage of glycogen, splenomegaly occurs, provoking the development of pancytopenia.
Splenomegaly can also develop due to cirrhosis of the liver, portal hypertension, sarcoidosis, malaria, megaloblastic anemia, visceral leishmaniasis, chronic infectious diseases (tuberculosis, etc.), malignant blood diseases, destruction of the spleen.
Symptoms of pancytopenia
The clinical symptoms of pancytopenia appear along with the symptoms of the disease that caused it. In general, this pathology is characterized by symptoms of anemia: general weakness, pallor of the skin, lethargy. Possible hemorrhagic diathesis, inflammation and bleeding of the mucous membranes (thrombocytopenia), fever, decreased immunity, recurrent infection (leukopenia), hemoptysis and hematuria.
If pancytopenia provokes destruction and necrosis of blood cells, the disease develops acutely. With bone marrow suppression, the course of the disease is slow, symptoms of pancytopenia do not appear, and blood cell production is reduced.
Treatment of pancytopenia
Treatment of pancytopenia is carried out depending on the clinical situation and the disease that provoked this pathology. Therapy includes the use of antibiotics, blood and plasma transfusions. An important step is the treatment of infections.
The patient is subject to daily clinical examinations. Particular attention is paid to measuring body temperature, palpation of the lymph nodes, periodically doing a general blood test.
Due to pancytopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, bleeding of mucous membranes, and the occurrence of secondary infections can develop.
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