Hematological Alterations in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax Malaria Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Care HospitalHospital

Malaria causes a wide spectrum of hematological and clinical manifestations. This study aimed to identify the alterations in the clinical and hematological parameters in patients infected with Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and mixed species.

The study included 126 smear-positive malaria cases, and various hematological parameters were studied.

The frequency of P. vivax, P. falciparum, and mixed species was 53.9%, 36.5%, and 9.6%, respectively. Anemia (hemoglobin <11 gm%) was seen in 79.3% of the cases, and severe anemia (hemoglobin <5g%) was detected in 27.7% of the cases. A decrease in red blood cell count was observed in 67% of P. falciparum and 47% cases of P. vivax cases. Increased red cell distribution width and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were seen in 81% and 78% of the cases, respectively. Leukocytosis and leucopenia were detected in 15% and 16% of all malaria cases, respectively. Thrombocytopenia was associated with 78% of cases infected with P. vivax. The degree of anemia was correlated with the parasite load, and the degree of parasitemia was correlated with the extent of thrombocytopenia. There were also significant variations in the mean corpuscular volume, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and platelet counts among malarial species (p<0.05).

Malaria is frequently associated with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia. Thrombocytopenia is mostly associated with P. vivax infection. On contrary, leukopenia is more prevalent in P. falciparum, followed by P. vivax and mixed parasitemia.