Journal of Hematology & Thromboembolic Diseases
Open Access

Abstract

Haematological Parameters of Malaria Infected Patients in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

Udomah Francis, Zama Isaac, Abdulrahaman Yakubu, Asemota Enosakhare and Emenike Felix

Malaria is a blood disease caused by the bite of Anopheles mosquito. Malaria causes the death of more than one million in Africa every year. Ten percent (10%) of death in children aged below three years are estimated to be from malaria in some parts of the tropical regions. In Sub-Sahara Africa including Nigeria, it is a major public health problem, hence this study to control and discriminate between these infections for possible early diagnosis. The study was conducted to statistically analyze hematological parameters including packed cells volume (PCV), total and differential white blood cells count (WBC), platelet count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of malaria infected patients in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar. The method adopted made use of 140 samples collected from seventy (70) apparently healthy individuals (controls). The other seventy (70) were malaria parasite positive patients. De-haemoglobinized Giemsa-stained thick blood film examination was carried out on both the patients and controls. Standard techniques were used to determine their hematological parameters. The results were analysed using student t-test and indicated significant difference in the hematological parameters between the malaria infected and non-infected subjects (p<0.05). The mean values of hematological parameters of malaria infected male patients were significantly higher than those of their female counterparts (p<0.05). This present research has shown that hematological parameters could be good and reliable adjunct in the early diagnosis of malaria in severely infected patients.