Essential Thrombocythemia among Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms in Haematology Unit of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Essential thrombocythemia, a myeloproliferative condition with an increased number of circulating platelets, is a rare hematological malignancy. The aim of the study is to find out the prevalence of essential thrombocythemia among patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms presenting in haematology unit of a tertiary care centre. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study at a tertiary care centre from September, 2020 to September, 2021 (Reference number: 48 (6-11) E2077/076). All the patients with a diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia and willing to give consent were included in the study while the patients with incomplete investigations were excluded. A sample size of 72 patients was taken and convenience sampling was done. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2010 and analysis was done by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 22.0. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data along with mean and standard deviation for continuous data. RESULTS: Among 72 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, the prevalence of essential thrombocythemia was found to be 17 (23.61%) (13.80-33.42 at a 95% Confidence Interval). The mean age of patients was 55.41+11.20 years with a male to female ratio of 9:8. The mean hemoglobin level and platelet count in patients were found to be 11.20+2.1 g/dl and 677000+262067.70 cells/mm(3). Twelve (70.58%) of total patients were under low risk of essential thrombocythemia while 3 (17.64%) of them were at high risk. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of essential thrombocythemia was similar to other studies done in similar settings.