Reference Intervals of Haematological Indices for Young Adults with Sickle Cell Anaemia in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> Background Reference intervals (RIs) are crucial for the interpretation of results and overall patient management. Of note, there are no established reference values for haematological parameters for patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) in Nigeria, making it difficult for clinicians to interpret and diagnose abnormalities appropriately. Objective This study aimed at establishing RIs of some haematological indices for individuals with SCA. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study, included a total of six hundred and seventy-eight (337 males and 341 females) young adults with SCA aged 18–35 years. The full blood count (FBC) was done using a haematology autoanalyzer. The haematological indices were classified using 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles and delineated as low (&lt; 2.5th percentile), normal reference interval (2.5–97.5th percentile) and high (&gt; 97.5th percentile). All analyses were done using SPSS IBM, version 20.0 software Results Generally, the reference interval for Haematocrit is 5.2-9.2g/dl, while the WBC ranged between 5.9 to 12.1 x 10⁹/l and the platelet count is 166–465 x 10⁹/l. For the male participants, the reference interval of the haematocrit was found to be between 5.2-9.3g/dl, the WBC ranged between 6.7 to 12.1 x 10⁹/l and the platelet count was between 166 x 10⁹/l to 399 x 10⁹/l. The female subjects had a haematocrit of between 5.5g/dl to 8.8 g/dl, WBC of between 5.9 10⁹/l and 12.96 x 10⁹/l and the platelet count was between 225 x 10⁹/l and 465 x 10⁹/l. Conclusion This study has established the reference intervals for the haematological indices in individuals with SCA