Peripheral blood and bone marrow changes in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

There is dearth of information on the haematologic complications of HIV/AIDS in this country. The aim of this work was to evaluate the importance of peripheral blood and bone marrow changes in a population of adult Nigerians managed for symptomatic HIV infection at the OAUTHC, Ile-Ife, between 1995 and 2001. The study was prospective. Peripheral blood cells counts (haemetocrit value, total and differential leucocyte counts, and platelet counts) and bone marrow cytology of serologically confirmed HIV/AIDS patients seen within the study period were studied. The associated opportunistic disorder (s) was noted for each patient. Individuals with conditions that are ordinarily associated with haematologic disorders (e.g. cancer and inherited haemoglobinopathies) and patients diagnosed in pregnancy were not included. Significant levels of differences in mean values of blood cells within groups were determined by student's t-test. Seventy-two patients were recorded, out of which 49 (68%) were evaluable. There were 32 (65%) males and 17 (35%) females, all aged between 21 and 51 (median = 36) years. None of the patients had conventional antiretroviral therapy. Lymphopenia (lymphocytes < 2 x 10(9)/l) was seen in 64.4% of the patients, 50% and over 40% of the patients had moderate-severe anaemia and neutropenia, respectively. Blood cells values were not significantly different between patients with mild disease and those with moderate-severe diseases. The most characteristic marrow abnormality was the abundance of naked nuclei of megakarycytes in 20 (60.1%) of the patients. Dysplatic changes were evident in 15 (45.5%) of the bone marrow specimens studied. Such changes are characterised by dysgranulopoiesis, Pelger-Huet anomaly in some of the mature granulocytes, vacuolation of some erythroid and myeloid cells, unilobular micromegakaryocytes and megaloblastic erythroid precursors (15.1% of the marrow).