Haematological Evaluation of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> Subjects at Central Hospital Agbor, Nigeria

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a severe public health problem in Nigeria that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and has its attendant effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the haematological profile of 146 newly diagnosed patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis attending Central Hospital Agbor, Delta State. A total of 38 Mycobacterium tuberculosis negative individuals were monitored as control. Five millilitres of venous blood were collected into EDTA containers. Complete blood count (Packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin, total white cell count, lymphocyte, platelet and neutrophil counts) was estimated using Sysmex XP 300 – haematology analyser. SPSS was used to analyse the data. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) observed in the total white blood cell counts between tuberculosis subjects and control subjects. Tuberculosis patients had significantly lower (p <0.05) haemoglobin levels (9.81 ± 0.24) than control (12.08 ± 0.42). There were significantly higher (p <0.05) platelet counts among tuberculosis patients (314.09  21.84) than controls subjects (279.35 ± 20.29). The lymphocyte (%) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in tuberculosis than controls; and neutrophil (%) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in tuberculosis (54.78 ± 2.64) than in controls (49.28 ± 2 .73). There were no significant differences (p >0.05) in the mean cell haemoglobin of tuberculosis and control subjects when compared. However, there was a significantly lower (p <0.05) mean cell haemoglobin concentration among the in tuberculosis-associated complications. tuberculosis patients compared to controls There was significantly higher (p <0.05) Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) among the tuberculosis subjects when compared with controls. There were observed haematological abnormalities in tuberculosis subjects in the study area. The study identified that NLR and PLCR as novel biomarkers for monitoring systemic inflammation in tuberculosis. It is therefore pertinent to estimate haematological parameters early in tuberculosis subjects to help in informed clinical decision making in the management of these subjects.