A controlled study on haemograms of malaria patients in Calcutta

A study was carried out at the Urban Health Centre, Chetla, Calcutta to evaluate the efficacy of quantitative buffy coat (QBC) analysis of haemograms in malaria patients suffering from fever with bodyache and chill and/or rigour attending the Fever Treatment Depot during a three months period (March-June 1996) who had undergone both malaria parasite study and haematological investigation by the QBC method from blood samples collected by finger prick. To avoid bias, malaria parasite studies and haemograms were done separately, and investigators were kept 'blind' about the results of other investigations. The haematological findings obtained of 180 slide-positive malaria cases were compared with a sample of 177 age- and sex-matched slide-negative controls selected by random sampling. The results revealed that haemoglobin levels (g%), haematocrit values (%), WBC and platelet counts of malaria cases were significantly lower than in the matched controls. Thus, QBC estimation correlates well with existing knowledge about malarial haematology. This relatively easier, quicker and reliable method of taking haemograms may be recommended for field testing for assessing haematological parameters of malaria cases under field conditions, before its introduction for large-scale use.