! Differential diagnosis of pancytopenia Bone marrow failur | Oxygen-Pediatry

! Differential diagnosis of pancytopenia

Bone marrow failure
Inherited – all rare. Commonest is Fanconi’s anaemia. Excess chromosome breaks. Defective DNA repair, decreased cell survival and susceptible to oxidant stress. Associated physical abnormalities, e.g. skeletal (absent thumbs), short stature. Only cure is a BM transplant.
Acquired– viral, e.g. hepatitis, herpes, Epstein–Barr– drugs – idiosyncratic, e.g. chloramphenicol, anticonvulsants, or predictable, e.g. chemotherapy; > 80 per cent are ‘idiopathic aplastic anaemia’.

Bone marrow infiltration
Malignancy, e.g. leukaemia or neuroblastoma. Rarely myelofibrosis and myelodysplasia.