Aplastic anaemia in Iraq. A prospective study.

The problem of aplastic anaemia (AA) in Iraq has not been previously investigated. This paper describes 60 patients evaluated prospectively at the University of Baghdad Teaching Hospital during the period 1975--1978. Criteria for the diagnosis included pancytopenia and hypocellular or acellular bone marrow. A surprising finding at variance with published reports about the disease from other parts of the world was a 3 : 1 preponderance of males over females. A discernible aetiology of drug or chemical exposure was detected in half of the patients. Chloramphenicol, alone or in combination with other antibiotics, was thought to be responsible for marrow injury in 12 patients. The occurrence of AA seems to be on the rise in Iraq, probably as a result of the increased use of potentially toxic therapeutic agents and chemicals, and of the growing environmental pollution.