Raja-Sabudin A.R.-Z.Othman A.Ahmed-Mohamed K.-A.E.Ithnin A.Alauddin H.Alias H.Abdul-Latif Z.Das S.Abdul-Wahid F.S.Hussin N.H.2024-05-292024-05-29201437952842-s2.0-84899656321https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84899656321&partnerID=40&md5=7cb6892074636422c799a6ee2d9cc6b8https://oarep.usim.edu.my/handle/123456789/1013824749130Objectives: 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.en-USArticle346349354SAMJD