Article: Types of anemia in pediatric oncology and non-oncology patients: insights from coulter diagnosis and peripheral blood smear analysis at a tertiary children’s hospital, Kathmandu
| creativeworkseries.issn | Online ISSN: 2676-1424; Print ISSN: 2676-1319 | |
| dc.contributor.author | Subedi, Moni | |
| dc.contributor.author | Pant, Swostika | |
| dc.contributor.author | Pathak, Neera | |
| dc.contributor.author | Shrestha, Sonafi | |
| dc.contributor.author | Bastola, Gargi | |
| dc.contributor.author | Thapa, Sushila | |
| dc.contributor.author | Baral, Kabita Devi | |
| dc.contributor.author | Khanal, Hemanta | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Pathology, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu | |
| dc.creator.affiliation | Department of Microbiology, Central Campus of Technology, Tribhuvan University, Hattisar, Dharan, Sunsari | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-21T10:35:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-09-21T10:35:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Abstract: Anemia is a significant health burden for pediatric patients, particularly those undergoing cancer treatment in resource-limited settings like Nepal. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of automated hematology systems by Coulter against manual peripheral blood smear (PBS) analysis for classifying anemia types in a pediatric population. A total of 454 pediatric patients were included, comprising 274 oncology (60.4%) and 180 non-oncology (39.6%) cases. The overall mean hemoglobin was 10.76 ± 2.11 g/dL, with moderate anemia (7.0–9.9 g/dL) being the most prevalent category (118 patients). Anemia severity was concentrated in the non-oncology group (95 of 118 moderate; 19 of 20 severe), while oncology patients predominantly had normal hemoglobin (125 cases). Significant differences in red cell indices were observed: oncology patients had higher mean MCV (8.7 fL higher, p <0.001) and MCH (2.6 pg higher, p <0.001) compared to non-oncology patients. A highly significant association was found between anemia type and clinical status (χ² = 207.012, p <0.001). Normocytic profiles (normocytic normochromic anemia, NNA / normocytic normochromic picture, NNP) dominated the oncology group (51.7% NNP), consistent with anemia of chronic disease. In contrast, microcytic hypochromic anemia (MHA) was more common in the non-oncology group, consistent with iron deficiency. The automated Coulter diagnosis showed a strong agreement with manual PBS findings (r = 0.970, χ² = 922.47, p <0.001). In contrast, MHA was significantly more prevalent in the non-oncology group, suggesting iron deficiency. Given the strong agreement between the systems, the automated Coulter diagnosis serves as a reliable initial screening tool for anemia classification, but PBS confirmation remains essential to differentiate anemia types and guide effective clinical management in developing country laboratories. | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.3126/nmcj.v28i2.97691 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14572/7791 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Nepal Medical College Pvt. Ltd. | |
| dc.subject | Anemia | |
| dc.subject | Automated hematology analyzer | |
| dc.subject | Pediatric oncology | |
| dc.subject | Peripheral blood smear | |
| dc.subject | Resource-limited settings | |
| dc.title | Types of anemia in pediatric oncology and non-oncology patients: insights from coulter diagnosis and peripheral blood smear analysis at a tertiary children’s hospital, Kathmandu | |
| dc.type | Article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| local.article.type | Original Article | |
| oaire.citation.endPage | 115 | |
| oaire.citation.startPage | 109 | |
| relation.isJournalIssueOfPublication | 7343f6a1-de6b-4f54-9249-346798b158af | |
| relation.isJournalIssueOfPublication.latestForDiscovery | 7343f6a1-de6b-4f54-9249-346798b158af | |
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