Haematological Changes Associated with Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Individuals with and without Sickle Cell Disease

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection, a major public health problem that primarily affects the liver, may cause reduction in the levels of haemoglobin, haematocrit and in the extreme, could cause aplastic anaemia. The haematological characteristics could be detected with a complete blood count which could provide invaluable information for diagnosis and management of the disease. Aim: To determine the effect of HBV infection on the blood count of individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) and apparently normal healthy (Non-SCD). Setting: Non-SCD participants were recruited from the community while SCD patients in steady state were recruited from SCD routine clinics. Methods: The study was a cross - sectional study carried out on 1017 non-SCD and 1017 SCD individuals. Haematology Autoanalyzer was used to determine the complete blood count. Granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (GLR), platelet to white blood cell count ratio (PWR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated. ELISA for HBsAg and HBV core antigen IgM antibodies were used to identify participants with HBV. Results: The non- SCD individuals infected with HBV had significantly higher WBC (7.51 ± 5.8 X109/L)) compared to a WBC (6.1 ± 3.4 X109/L) in uninfected individuals (p =0.001). PWR for HBV negative (49.9±28.6) was higher than that for HBV positive participants (41.4±17.6) (p=0.034). Mean platelet volume (MPV) of 9.93 ± 1.1fl in SCD individuals with HBV was significantly higher than 8.30 ± 0.95fl in SCD individuals without HBV (p=.001). Conclusions: PWR and MPV may be useful as surrogate marker for detection of HBV disease progression in apparently normal healthy non - SCD and SCD populations to institute prompt appropriate ancillary investigation and treatment. Keywords: Hepatitis B virus infection; Non-sickle celldisease; blood count; haematologicalparameters; sickle cell disease.