PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Raja-Sabudin, RajaZahratul A.
AU  - Othman, Ainoon
AU  - Ahmed-Mohamed, KhalidAwad E.
AU  - Ithnin, Azlin
AU  - Alauddin, Hafiza
AU  - Alias, Hamidah
AU  - Abdul-Latif, Zarina
AU  - Das, Srijit
AU  - Abdul-Wahid, Fadilah S.
AU  - Hussin, Noor H.
TI  - Immature reticulocyte fraction is an early predictor of bone marrow recovery post chemotherapy in patients with acute leukemia
DP  - 2014 Apr 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 346--349
VI  - 35
IP  - 4
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/35/4/346.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/35/4/346.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2014 Apr 01; 35
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To establish the benefits of immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) measurement using an automated hematology cells analyzer over absolute neutrophil count (ANC) in predicting bone marrow recovery post induction chemotherapy.METHODS: A prospective observational study was carried out in the Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Pediatrics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Medical Center (UKMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during a period of 19 months from April 2009 to December 2010 to assess the bone marrow recovery in patients with acute leukemia. A total of 22 patients in remission induction phases were enrolled in this study. The blood specimens were collected from day zero after chemotherapy, and every 3 days until patients recovered hematologically. All blood samples were measured for ANC and IRF using an automated hematology analyzer (Beckman-Coulter LH750).RESULTS: The percentage of patients showing IRF recovery earlier than ANC recovery was 63.6% (14 out of 22 patients). There was a significant difference in the mean number of days for IRF recovery as compared with ANC recovery (14.05 and 17.18 days), p=0.005.CONCLUSION: This study proved that IRF was more useful in predicting bone marrow recovery in a patient with acute leukemia post induction chemotherapy compared with ANC. The IRF is not affected by infection, is easily measured, and inexpensive; thus, it is a reliable parameter to evaluate bone marrow reconstitution.