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Summary: Morphological dysplasia in haematopoietic cells, defined by a 10% threshold in each lineage, is one of the diagnostic criteria for myelodysplastic neoplasms. Dysplasia limited to the erythroid lineage has also been reported in some cases of aplastic anaemia (AA); however, its significance remains unclear. We herein examined the impact of erythroid dysplasia on immunosuppressive therapy responses and survival in AA patients. The present study included 100 eligible AA patients without ring sideroblasts. Among them, 32 had dysplasia in the erythroid lineage (AA with minimal dysplasia [mini‐D]). No significant sex or age differences were observed between AA groups with and without erythroid dysplasia. In severe/very severe AA and non‐severe AA patients, a response to anti‐thymocyte globulin + ciclosporin within 12 months was observed in 80.0% and 60.0% of AA with mini‐D and 42.9% and 90.0% of those without dysplasia, with no significant difference (p = 0.29 and p = 0.24 respectively). Overall survival and leukaemia‐free survival did not significantly differ between the groups. Collectively, the present results indicate that the presence of erythroid dysplasia did not significantly affect clinical characteristics or outcomes in AA patients, suggesting that its presence in AA is acceptable. Therefore, erythroid dysplasia should not exclude an AA diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: While white blood cell (WBC) parameters have been suggested to depend on ethnicity and gender, reference intervals in healthy Asian populations are limited. The present study established reference intervals of WBC parameters for healthy adults in Japan. Methods: A total of 750 healthy adults (447 women and 303 men; 18‐67 years old, median 40 years old) at 7 Japanese centers who participated in regular medical checkups entered this study. The WBC parameters were measured using automated hematocytometers and blood film reviews by a manual microscopic examination. Results: The reference intervals of the WBC parameters according to gender in healthy adults were determined. Age‐specific decreases in WBC counts of both gender groups and in neutrophil counts of women were noted. Favorable correlations between the hematocytometer and microscopic methods were found in neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils but not in monocytes or basophils. Conclusion: This study suggests the need to consider gender and age in the clinical use of reference intervals of WBC parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]