Variation in blood count parameters of children aged 5 to 11 years in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

  • Kokore Angoua Baudouin Department of Animal Biology, Training and Research Unity of Biological Sciences, Peleforo Gon Coulibaly University of Korhogo (Côte d'Ivoire)
  • Kamagate Soualio Department of Animal Biology, Training and Research Unity of Biological Sciences, Peleforo Gon Coulibaly University of Korhogo (Côte d'Ivoire)
  • Ouattara Howélé Department of Animal Biology, Training and Research Unity of Biological Sciences, Peleforo Gon Coulibaly University of Korhogo (Côte d'Ivoire)
  • Bleyere Nahounou Mathieu Department of Physiology Pharmacology and Pharmacopoeia, Nangui Abrogoua University, Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).
  • Yapo Paul Department of Physiology Pharmacology and Pharmacopoeia, Nangui Abrogoua University, Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).
Keywords: Blood count, Children, Hematological

Abstract

Background: In Côte d’Ivoire, as in most developing countries, the reference values of hematological indices currently in use come from data collected from populations living in industrialized countries. The aim of this study was to determine variations in the child's blood count in Cote d'Ivoire.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study has focused on 310 children (172 girls and 138 boys) aged 5 to 11 years selected from three municipalities of Abidjan. Blood samples were taken from each child in order to assess the parameters of the blood count.

Results: The results revealed that the means of the different hematological parameters (red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, monocyte, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) were in accordance with the normal physiological reference values from the literature apart lymphocyte. The rate of lymphocytes (51.3 ± 0.5) was higher overall. All the parameters did not indicate significant differences between girls and boys (p > 0.05) except mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin that were statistically different by sex (p < 0.05). The percentage of having a rate of haemoglobin lower than 11.5 decreased significantly (p˂0.005) when the age increased. In addition, the rate of hemoglobin and hematocrit increased slightly starting from the age of 8 years. There is a significant difference (p < 0.05) in hemoglobin level between girls and boys in the age group of 9 years. Leukopenia is observed in a minority of children in the age groups of 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 years.

Conclusion: Some hematological parameters were different from other data published in the literature, which suggested a local development of reference values for children.

Published
2021-06-29
Section
Articles