Hematological profiles of newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Western Kenya

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) mortality remains high despite current availability of effective anti-TB drugs. This could be due to pathophysiological derangements that are not fully understood and managed during anti-TB therapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hematological changes in newly diagnosed PTB patients.

Methods: 55 newly diagnosed PTB patients and 55 healthy controls were included in this cross-sectional non-randomized study. Complete hematological profiles were determined using an automatic analyzer. Peripheral blood films were used to evaluate cellular morphology. Data was analyzed using chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests (SPSS version 29.0).

Results: Males constituted 80% (44) of the newly diagnosed PTB patients and 81.8% of the blood donor controls. Compared with the control group, the PTB patients group exhibited significantly lower median red blood cell (RBC) count (4.79×106 µl vs 5.2×106 µl, p=0.001), hemoglobin levels (12.8 g/dl vs 14.3 g/dl, p=0.0001), hematocrit (37.9% vs 42.05%, p=0.0001), mean platelet volume (8.9 fl vs 10.5 fl, p=0.0001) and platelet distribution width (10.4 fl vs 13.0 fl, p=0.0001). The median platelet count for the PTB group was significantly higher relative to controls (314.0×103/µl vs 237.0×103/µl, p=0.0001). Similarly, the PTB group had a significantly higher PCT% compared to controls (0.27% vs 0.25%, p=0.002). Morphological analysis of peripheral blood films revealed normocytic normochromic anemia and microcytic hypochromic anemia in 54.5% (n=30) and 34.6% (n=19) of PTB patients, respectively.

Conclusions: Newly diagnosed PTB patients in Western Kenya present with leukocytosis, elevated platelet count and anemia, suggesting the need for appropriate management and routine monitoring of hematological profiles.