Aim: Aplastic anemia is a rare syndrome of bone marrow failure. There is a dearth of data on the clinical and demographic profile of pediatric patients with aplastic anemia in the Philippines. This study provides data on pediatric patients with aplastic anemia seen in the Philippine national tertiary hospital in an 8-year period.

Methods: Records of patients below 19 years of age diagnosed with aplastic anemia at the Philippine General Hospital from 2006 to 2013 were retrieved. Only patients with bone marrow examination results confirming the diagnosis of aplastic anemia were included. The patients’ clinical data and diagnostic results were presented using descriptive statistics.

Results: A total of 39 pediatric patients were diagnosed with aplastic anemia in the Philippine national tertiary hospital from 2006 to 2013. There were 25 males and 14 females. The median age was 13 years, and majority (66.7%) resided in urban dwellings. Thirteen patients had non-severe disease, 15 had severe, and 11 had very severe aplastic anemia. Majority (87.2%) were classified as idiopathic. Sixteen patients received cyclosporine (41.1%) and four received corticosteroids (10.2%). The rest received supportive therapy only. Seven patients died due to sepsis (18%), while the rest were lost to follow-up.

Conclusion: Management and long-term follow up of children with aplastic anemia in the Philippines need to be improved. Provision of financial and social support and the creation of a registry of aplastic anemia may improve the outcome of patients.