[Hematological abnormalities in alcoholism].

The most common haematological abnormalities in alcoholism are raised mean corpuscular volume of the erythrocytes and thrombocytopenia. The etiology is multifactorial including malnutrition with folate deficiency, a direct toxic influence of alcohol and sequestration in an enlarged spleen. Sideroblastic anaemia caused by interference of alcohol with the metabolism of pyridoxine is common and so is haemolytic anaemia caused by hypersplenism and megaloblastic anaemia. Leucopenia can be seen and is probably caused by a direct toxic effect of alcohol on the bone marrow. Other potentially toxic changes are impaired chemotaxis, motility and adherence of the granulocytes and impaired blast-transformation of the lymphocytes. In the bone marrow, vacuolized precursors of myelo- and erythropoiesis are seen. The bone marrow may be hypocellular. Other changes in the bone marrow are increased but ineffective erythropoiesis with defective iron metabolism, vacuolized pro-erythroblasts, multinucleated erythroblasts, megaloblasts and iron-containing plasma cells.