Correlation of peripheral smear with RBC indices and RBC histogram in the diagnosis of anemia

Introduction: In haematological disorders morphological changes in RBCs plays a vital role. The RBCs indices were always correlated with peripheral smear findings. This study was done to understand the importance of histogram and peripheral smear findings. Materials and Methods: EDTA blood sample from patients of anemia was run on Nihon Kohden Five part automated cell counter and peripheral smears were prepared for 3 months in tertiary hospital. The correlation between microscopic findings in RBCs morphology with cell counter histograms was done. Result: Total 176 patients of anemia were studied. The females were 130 (73.86%) and males were 46 (26.17%). Microcytic hypochromic anemia was common and was seen in 64.77% followed by Normochromic normocytic anemia which was seen in 19.31%, Dimorphic anemia in 11.93%, Macrocytic anemia in 2.84%, and Pancytopenia in 1.13%. In microcytic anemia the curve was shifted to left, in macrocytic anemia the shift was towards right side, and dimorphic anemia shows bimodal peak. Conclusion: For diagnosis of anemia peripheral smear findings were definitive and histogram can be used as supplementary tool. Keywords: Histogram, RBC, Anemia, Peripheral Smear.