CHANGES IN HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN MALARIA PARASITAEMIA AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN WITH VARYING HAEMOGLOBIN GENOTYPES
Susanna O. Akwuebu*, Evelyn M. Eze1 and Zacchaeus A. Jeremiah
ABSTRACT
Malaria parasitemia has been known to drastically affect haematological parameters. But little is known of its interaction with various haemoglobin genotypes and how they conbine to cause changes in haematological indices. The aim of this study was to determine the changes in haematological parameters in haemoglobin variants in pregnant women with sub-clinical malaria. Five millilitres of venous blood was collected aseptically into 1% diamine tetraacetic acid bottle and carefully mixed for the analysis. Determination of haemoglobin variant was done using cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis with Tris-EDTA-borate buffer (pH 8.9). Haematological parameters were determined using Mindray BC-6800, an auto Haematology analyzer system, Mindray BC-6800. Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 12 was used. Descriptive statistics mean separation using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Quantitative data were presented as percentages, while continuous variables such as age were expressed as mean ±standard deviation and a level of significance set at P < 0.05. A total of eight hundred and twenty-eight (828) participated in the study. The mean age of the study participant was 29.5+5.31 years. Majority of the participants 612(73.9%) had haemoglobin electrophoretic pattern of AA. The abnormal haemoglobin variant of SS constituted 2(0.24%) in this study population. Those with AS were 214(25.8%). The mean PCV among HbAA, HbAS and HbSS was 33.98±0.25% 33.39±0.24% and 25.20±1.80% at P-value (0.043) respectively. Neutrophil percentage was not affected by any of the characteristics above (P > 0.05). Lymphocyte percentage was slightly significantly elevated among participated age <21 years (P < 0.02). There was a significant elevation in the mean monocyte percentages during the second trimester of pregnancy (P < 0.05). No significant changes in the MCHC and MCH values were observed when compared with the measured characteristics (P > 0.05). The platelet count was remarkably reduced among participants aged 21-25years and above. Mean reticulocyte count was found to be higher among the HbSS genotype with mean value of 4.45±0.05 as compared with HbAS (1.93±0.05) and HbAA (1.97±0.08). In conclusion, Haemoglobin variants were observed to suffer malaria infection but at varying frequencies and changes were observed in haematological parameters as influenced by malaria and variants of haemoglobin genotypes, and due to the interaction between both factors.
Keywords: HbAA, HbAS and HbSS.
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