Abstract

HAEMATOLOGICAL CHANGES BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT AMONG SUDANESE PATIENTS INFECTED BY PLASMODIUM SPECIES IN KHARTOUM STATE, SUDAN

Awad H. Malik, Yasir Hassan A., Soha E.A. Al-Sayed*, Makkawi M. Modawi and Hassan A. Musa

Abstract

Malaria is a worldwide disease especially in tropical Africa with high rate of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of malaria on three blood parameters among Sudanese patients. One hundred and eighteen specimens were collected from volunteered Sudanese malaria patients. All samples were diagnosed by Giemsa stained thick and thin blood films, and ICT (P.f/P.v). Complete blood counts were estimated by mindray blood counter. All cases were treated by antimalarial drugs and requested to check after two weeks. Forty one patients came back for check and the same investigations were done to make sure that they were cured. The study showed that P. falciparum was the most predominant species (n=115-97.5%). Mixed infection was 0.8% (n=1) and P. vivax was 1.7% (n=2). 85.6% of the patients had mild anaemia. The majority of the patients had normal white blood count. Nineteen patients had leucopenia and five patients had leucocytosis. 42.4% of the participants had thrombocytopenia. 88% of them had platelets counts between 50,000 – 100,000/μl. Follow up of the forty one patients showed no significant changes in the level of haemoglobin and the white blood count (p=0.06 and 0.51 respectively). All patients with thrombocytopenia switched back to normal count (p=0.0003). As a conclusion anaemia and thrombocytopenia are common findings among Sudanese malaria patients. Detection of thrombocytopenia is a valuable indicator of infection. Even more valuable is the reversal of thrombocytopenia to normal counts after treatment. This finding is a significant predictor of the cure of the patients.

Keywords: Malaria, Anaemia, Thrombocytopenia, Sudan.