Clinical Hematology

Basics about blood disorders:

Department of Clinical Hematology aims to provide state of art diagnostic evaluation and treatment for all types of blood disorders. Blood disorders can be divided into benign (non-cancerous) and malignant (cancerous) disorders. Blood disorders can have wide variety of symptoms and most often blood disorders are identified when blood testing done by primary health care physician, however some of these symptoms are more specific to blood disorders.

Long standing (more than 1 month) or rapidly growing lymph node swellings in the neck, arm pit or groin.
Bone pain or bone fracture without injury or with minor injury
Unexplained weight loss
Pale skin
Jaundice with low hemoglobin
Fever not responding to treatment for more than 2 weeks
Bleeding from nose, gums, or bleeding in stools

One may seek Hemato-Oncologist consultation if you have any of the above symptoms or when you are referred to a Hematologist.

If you are doing CBC testing for any reason, you may need hematologist consultation when your Hemoglobin is < 8 gm/dl, WBC counts are less than 3000/ul and or when platelets are less than 50,000/ ul.

Our Approach:

Based on patient’s symptoms and findings on clinical examination, necessary blood investigations will be taken and if required BMA/Bx or lymph node biopsy will be done. After reaching the diagnosis, various treatment options (oral medication, IV injections, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy and targeted therapy, Bone Marrow Stem cell Transplant) for the condition will be discussed with patient & family and final treatment will be decided.

Benign Hematology:

Anemia ( Low Hemoglobin)
Polycythemia ( abnormally high hemoglobin)
Thrombocytopenia ( Low WBC count)
Thrombocytosis ( abnormally high platelet count)
Leucopenia ( low WBC counts)
Leukocytosis (abnormally high WBC counts)
Pancytopenia ( HB, WBC, Platelet – all abnormally low )
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis ( secondary to infection or genetic conditions)
Bone marrow failure (aplastic anemia)
Hereditary hemolytic anemia
– Thalassemia
– Sickle cell anemia
– Hereditary spherocytosis
Bleeding and coagulation disorders ( excessive bleeding without any injury)
– Hemophilia and relateddisorders
– Von Willebrand disease
Autoimmune blood disorders
– Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)
– Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA)
Special population
– Pregnancy with low platelet counts
– Pregnancy with low hemoglobin
– Pubertalmenorrhagia

Malignant Hematology

Long standing lymphadenopathy evaluation (more than 1 month)
Splenomegaly evaluation
Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
– DLBCL
– Follicular lymphoma
– T cell lymphoma
– Other NHL
Multiple Myeloma
Light Chain Amyloidosis
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic Myeloid leukemia
Chronic Myeloproliferative disorders ( Myelofibrosis, essential thrombocytosis, polycythemia Vera)
Myelodysplastic syndrome
Acute leukemia type blood cancers
– Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
– Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Bone Marrow Stem cell transplant

Autologous Bone marrow stem cell transplant for Multiple Myeloma
Autologous Bone marrow stem cell transplant for Mantle Cell Leukemia
Autologous Bone marrow stem cell transplant for relapsed lymphoma
Matched sibling Allogeneic transplant for various blood disorders ( Benign and Malignant)