We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

Download Mobile App




Platelet Indices Altered in Severe Malaria

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 08 Jan 2014
Changes in platelet counts during acute malaria are common and such changes are a major cause of concern to clinicians because such cases are more likely to evolve into serious and complicated disease. More...


The reduction in the number of platelets, platelet function is also compromised in these patients suffering from acute malaria infection and this is generally evidenced by changes in the volume and other features of platelet cells.

Scientists at the University Hospital of Federal University of Mato Grosso (Cuiabá, Brazil) performed a cross-sectional descriptive study based on the clinical and laboratory data of 186 patients with acute malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax who attended the Malaria Clinic between 2008 and 2013. All the patients underwent hemogram and blood biochemical analyses at their first appointment and malaria was diagnosed on the basis of the microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thick smears.

All blood cell counts were determined using the Pentra 80 automated equipment (Horiba Medical; Montpellier, France), which provides results for mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT). The normal ranges for MPV, PDW, and PCT provided for this equipment are 7.0/µm3–10.5/µm3, 11%–18%, and 0.15%–0.50% respectively. Patients with a longer duration of symptoms or those identified as primo infected were considered potential candidates for evolution into the severe form of malaria.


The MPV, PDW, and PCT values exhibited significant variability. A significant inverse relationship was observed between parasitaemia and PCT. Patients with warning signs for evolution into severe disease, with primo infection, or presenting with symptoms for over three days had the highest MPV and PDW. The mean platelet count was 114,823 ± 76,761 cells/mm3; 16.7% of the patients exhibited counts fewer than 50,000/mm3 and 60.7% had platelet counts between 50,000/mm3 and 150,000/mm3. The mean MPV was 9.3 µm, the mean PDW was 17.5% and mean PCT was 0.104%. Potentially more serious cases, that is, primo-infected patients, exhibited significantly higher MPV and PDW.


The authors concluded that that platelet indices were altered during acute and symptomatic infection by P. vivax. The elevation of MPV and PDW, and reduction of PCT are related to known potential risk factors for evolution into severe malaria, such as primo infection, longer symptom duration, and the presence of the classical warning signs of severe and complicated P. falciparum malaria. Therefore, these parameters and indices could be useful as predictors of severity in the clinical approach of patients with malaria caused by P. vivax. The study was published on December 27, 2013, in the Malaria Journal.

Related Links:

University Hospital of Federal University of Mato Grosso
Horiba Medical



Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
3-Part Differential Hematology Analyzer
Swelab Alfa Plus Sampler
New
Gold Member
Serological Pipets
INTEGRA Serological Pipets
New
Autoimmune Disease Diagnostic
Chorus ds-DNA-G
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.