Haematological and biochemical reference values of Gambian infants. Issue 3 (7th January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Odutola, Aderonke A.; Afolabi, Muhammed O.; Jafali, James; Baldeh, Ignatius; Owolabi, Olumuyiwa A.; Owiafe, Patrick; Bah, Gibril; Jaiteh, Boto; Mohammed, Nuredin I.; Donkor, Simon A.; Ndure, Jorjoh; Adetifa, Jane; Flanagan, Katie L.; Ota, Martin O. C.
• Is Part Of: Tropical medicine & international health. Volume 19:Issue 3(2014:Mar.)
• Page Start: 275
• Page End: 283
• Publication Date: 2014-01-07
• Subjects: Tropical medicine -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 616.988
• DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12245
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1360-2276

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="tmi12245-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="tmi12245-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To establish haematological and biological reference values for Gambian infants.</p> </sec> <sec id="tmi12245-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Basic haematological and biochemical indices were analysed in blood samples obtained from healthy infants from Sukuta in the Western Division of The Gambia. The 2.5 and the 97.5 centiles for these indices were estimated.</p> </sec> <sec id="tmi12245-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Reference ranges for haematological and biochemical indices were determined. Haemoglobin, total white cell count (WBC) and platelet levels decreased with age (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), whereas most of the white cell count subsets except monocytes did not vary with age. Potassium and alkaline phosphatase fell significantly with increasing age (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001; <italic>P</italic> < 0.001), whereas urea and creatinine rose with increasing age (<italic>P</italic> = 0.002; <italic>P</italic> < 0.001, respectively).</p> </sec> <sec id="tmi12245-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>Our set of haematological and biochemical reference values for healthy infants in The Gambia differs from values in other settings, thus underscoring the importance of establishing region‐specific paediatric reference ranges to ensure optimal patient management and evaluate the impact of interventions in clinical research.</p> </sec> </abstract>