effect of low altitude on blood count parameters

High altitude has an effect on blood count parameters, but low altitude [especially below sea level] has not been studied. A cross-sectional study of aymptomatic subjects aged between 18 to 35 years of age who had reported to the blood bank at the King Abdullah University Hospital [KAUH]/Irbid and Ministry of Health, Jordan, during the period between January 2010 to June 2011 for blood donation. Hematological values were compared in healthy adult blood donors living in areas 200 to 300 meters below sea level and areas 500 to 1500 meters above sea level. The study population consisted of 800 females and 666 males aged between 18 to 35 years. The mean values for hemoglobin level, mean corpuscular volume and leukocyte counts were significantly higher in people living above sea level than in people living below sea level [P<.0001], whereas platelet count and red cell distribution width were significantly higher in people living below sea level than in people living above sea level [P<.0001]. We found a significant difference in hematological parameters in healthy adults living above and below sea level. The hematological values presented here are from a large, representative population sample and the first report of people living below sea level

Predictors of severe hemolysis in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency following exposure to oxidant stresses

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD] deficiency is a genetic enzymatic disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, and is a major health problem in Jordan. We studied factors that may predict severe hemolysis in children with G6PD deficiency. We reviewed the records of patients with low G6PD activity admitted to a teaching hospital between 1996 to 2007. We collected demographic data, details of sign and symptoms, history and type of fava bean ingestion, blood and Rh group, history of neonatal jaundice, history and type of drug use, abdominal pain at admission and the results of tests for hemoglobin, white blood cells [WBC], and hepatic function. We classified patients into mild and severe groups based on hemoglobin levels at admission. Of 428 children with G6PD deficiency, 79 [18%] were severe cases and 349 [82%] patients with mild disease. There were no statistically significant differences in most factors between the two groups. Factors that achieved statistical significance for severe hemolysis included younger age [P<.05], male gender [P<.05], higher alkaline phosphatase [ALP] [P<.05], presence of fever at admission [P<.01], presence of vomiting during the attack [P=.006], and a negative family history for G6PD deficiency [P=.005]. Severe hemolysis can be predicted during hemolytic episodes in children with low G6PD by young age, male gender, a negative family history of G6PD deficiency, the presence of fever and vomiting and a high ALP