Hematological reference intervals among full-term newborns in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Hematological reference intervals are used for medical decision tools for interpretation of numerical test results. Establishing of hematological interval among newborn babies is very important for the diagnosis of malignancy, anemia, bleeding disorders, and various infections. There are no locally established hematological reference intervals in Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of this study is to establish locally determined hematological reference interval among full-term newborns. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 15 to July 30 2019 among 151 apparently healthy fullterm newborns at Gondar University Hospital. About 3 ml of cord blood was obtained for analysis of Hematological parameters and determined by using Sysmex KX-21N (Sysmex Corporation Kobe, Japan) automated analyzer. Median, 2.5th and 97.5th percentile were computed. Result: Male to female ratio was almost equal. All hematological parameter had no statistically significant difference between males and females. The delivery types were not influenced its hematological values. The reference interval of white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean cell volume, and mean cell hemoglobin were (7.64-22.16) x10 9 /l, (3.69-5.47)x10 12 /l, (132.74-413.4) x10 9 /l, (13.32-19.64) g/dl and (39.42-58.06)%, (91.6-113.22)fl, and (30.48-38.02 pg), respectively. Conclusions: All hematological reference intervals were established from full-term newborns at University of Gondar hospital was different from other studies in Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Therefore, own determined reference value is very important for the clinicians to correctly diagnosis the patients at health facility levels.

Umbilical cord blood hematological parameters reference interval for newborns from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…These might be due to the high altitude in Addis Ababa and mode of deliveries in which the majorly of participants in our study had spontaneous vaginal delivery [ 31 – 33 ]. Except the lower reference limit of HGB which is lower than the study from northern part of Ethiopia, the median and upper limit are consistent with a study from north Ethiopia [ 38 ], which is also a highland area (i.e., 12.4–19.7 (15.8 g/dL) current study vs. 13.32–19.64 (16.0 g/dL) from north Ethiopia).…”

“…MCV value in this study was surprisingly lower than most studies [ 33 , 42 – 44 , 46 – 50 ] including the study from north Ethiopia [ 38 ] and needs further investigation. RDW value in our finding, which is a marker of anisocytosis, was lower than Saudi Arabia [ 44 ], Iran [ 50 ] and Nigeria [ 43 ] but higher than that of Greece [ 46 ].…”

“…The current WBC finding was also lower compared to the limited published data from Ethiopia. The respective median and 95 % reference intervals were 12.4 (6.6–19.4) x10 9 /L in the current study versus 13.1 (7.0–20.9) x10 9 /L [ 37 ] from central Ethiopia using Coulter T 540 and 12.8 (7.64–22.16) x10 9 /L from north Ethiopia [ 38 ]. Of note, the value is much lower than the currently in use company derived RI which is 9.0–30.0 × 10 9 /L.…”

“…In spite of the fact that reference intervals can play an important role in guiding the assessment of hematological changes in neonatal care, there is no published reference interval for hematological parameters in cord blood of Ethiopians except some earlier efforts from Central Ethiopia [ 37 ] and recently from Northwest [ 38 ]. This study aimed at providing such intervals for cord blood samples from Addis Ababa.…”

Prevalence of Anemia and Associated Factors Among Term Newborns in Nekemte Specialized Hospital, Western Ethiopia

“…1 Since there is no set Hgb limit for cord blood to define newborn anemia, this study used a Hgb value of less than 13.5 g/dL, adopted from lower limit of study conducted in Ethiopia. 2 Anemia is a widespread health threat that affects people around the world. According to global data from 2013, 2 billion people are affected by anemia.…”