Study of Hematological Alterations in Malaria at a Tertiary Health Care Center of South Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT

Background: Malaria is a disease with a great global burden. It is one of the most prevalent parasitic infection common intropical, subtropical countries, particularly Asia and Africa. Malaria causing plasmodia is parasites of blood and hence induceshematological alterations. The hematological changes that have been reported to accompany malaria include anemia,thrombocytopenia, leukocytosis as well as leukopenia, mild-to-moderate atypical lymphocytosis, monocytosis, eosinophilia,and neutrophilia. Hence, the present study is undertaken to evaluate the various hematological parameters affected in malariaand to observe the variations, if any, in Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and mixed infections.Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in the Department of Pathology at Tertiary Health Care Centerof South Gujarat from August 2018 to October 2018. A total of 480 smear-positive malaria cases were analyzed and varioushematological parameters were studied.Results: Out of 480 smear-positive cases, P. vivax was positive in 77% of cases, P. falciparum was positive in 22% of casesand mixed infection in 1% of cases. Most of the cases were seen in the age group of 21–40 years. Anemia was seen in 53.1%of cases. Normocytic normochromic blood picture was the most common type in anemic patients (46.6%). Thrombocytopeniawas seen in 84.58% of the patients. Out of which, 75.86% were affected by P. vivax, 23.15% were affected by P. falciparum,and 0.98% were affected by the mixed infection. About 28.75% of cases showed hematological features of leukopenia, and5.2% of cases were having leukocytosis.Conclusions: Various hematological findings can help in early diagnosis of malaria which is essential for timely and appropriatetreatment which can limit the morbidity and prevent further complications