Some hemostatic parameters of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis infection attending Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Nigeria. This study was aimed at providing information on pattern of some hemostatic parameters of pulmonary TB (PTB)-infected patients. Materials and Methods: This is a comparative cross-sectional study of 102 participants comprising 51 TB-infected individuals and 51 healthy individuals as control. Five milliliters of blood were drawn from each subject and 3 ml was transferred into 0.3 ml of trisodium citrate (3.8%) anticoagulant plastic tube for the analysis of prothrombin and activated partial thromboplastin time using standard techniques while the remaining 2 ml was then transferred into an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid container (of what concentration) for platelet count and morphology. Result: The median interquartile range of the PLC, platelet morphology, prothrombin time (PT), and APPT was determined and comparative analysis using Chi-square was made and found to be statistically significant (P = 0.001, 0.001, and 0.001, respectively). There was no statistically significant association between hemostatic parameters (PT, activated partial thromboplastin time with kaolin [APTTK], and platelet count) and body mass index. A Kruskal–Wallis H test showed that there was a statistically significant difference in PT, APTTK, and platelet count between the different categories of patient’s Mycobacterium tuberculosis load (P < 0.005). Chi- square statistics revealed the association between APTTK and platelet count, with anti-TB drugs regimen to be statistically significant. However, there was no statistically significant association between PT and anti-TB drug regimen. Conclusion: This study revealed that PTB affects hemostasis by prolongation of PT and APTTK, it is also associated with giant platelet formation and intravascular platelet aggregation.