Thrombocytopenia and anemia in malaria: an assessment of hematological profile in patients of a public hospital of Peshawar

Abstract

Introduction: Malaria remains the among the top global killers, causing 1-3 million deaths a year, with children under five being the major victims, accounting for about 60% of malarial deaths worldwide. Among other hematological changes in patients, thrombocytopenia and anemia remain the hallmark of the disease.

Objective: To document the occurrence and severity of thrombocytopenia and anemia in proven malaria patients of a public sector hospital of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in Government Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital, Peshawar, from August 2018 to July 2019. All patients confirmed to be malarial parasite positive cases were enrolled in this study after informed consent, and their complete hematological profiles were obtained using automatic hematology analyzer. Descriptive data analysis was done using SPSS 20.

Results: A total of 146 patients were enrolled in the study, including 64% males and 36% females of ages 7-71 years, the most frequent age group being 20-32 years (40 patients). Malarial parasites identified by microscopy were Plasmodium vivax 98% and Plasmodium falciparum 2%. A significant correlation was seen between anemia and thrombocytopenia (p=0.01). Thrombocytopenia was found in 75% of study population while 33% of patients were found to have anemia.

Conclusion: Thrombocytopenia and anemia were the major hematological abnormalities observed in majority of malaria positive cases, being most common in malarial vivax species.