Haematological changes in kala azar: a study on 82 Iraqi patients

Haematological and clinical features of 82 Iraqi patients diagnosed as visceral leishmaniasis by bone marrow aspirates. were studied. All patients except one were less than eight years old. and their major clinical presenting features were fever. splenomegaly and hepatomegaly. while their haematological abnormalities were anaemia [96.3%]. thrombocytopenia [82.9%] and neutropeni a [68.3%]. Anaemia was mostly severe to moderate in degree, and was hypochromic and microcytic in 71.9% of the cases. In the majority of the latter cases non deficiency was implicated. It was also found that, in addition to the central role of hypersplenism. the clinical. and haematological findings in this studs indicate that various factors including ineffective erythropoiesis and granulopoiesis. iron deficieney. failure of iron uptake by the erythron. megaloblastosis. And immune haemolysis have variable contributions to the various haematological changes noted in this disease