Aplastic anaemia in a low resource economy: experience and survival of cases at University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the incidence, and discuss management practices currently in use alongside survival outcome at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Ondo State, Nigeria over a 10-year period

Design: This study utilized a retrospective research design

Setting: The study was conducted at UNIMEDTH, Ondo State, Nigeria.

Subject/Participant: Patients diagnosed with aplastic anaemia in the Haematology Department at the UNIMETH between 2012 to 2021.

Intervention: Information on the age, sex, haematologic parameters at presentation (White blood cell count, Haematocrit, Platelet count) and survival outcome were retrieved from the case notes of all patient’s diagnosis with aplastic anaemia.

Main outcome measures: Survival rate of the patients following a strictly monitored treatment over a 10 – year time span

Results: A total of 13 patients were treated for aplastic anaemia over the 10 - year period giving an annual hospital incidence of 1.625 cases/year. Seven patients were diagnosed with severe Aplastic Anaemia, four with moderate AA and two with mild AA. The age of the patients ranged from 3 to 85 years with a male to female ratio of 0.54:0.46. The mean packed cell volume at presentation was 15.03%, white cell count was 2,323 x 109/L, and platelet count was 35,461/L.

Conclusion: The evidence of improved survival rate in aplastic anaemia globally is apparent. However, this study has shown this to be hampered by various factors ranging from federal policies to reduce prices of drugs for patients