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Blood counts in children with Down syndrome
Susan Harvey1,2,3, Kristine Wolter-Warmerdam4, Francis Hickey2,4
1Center of Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Insights
Children with Down syndrome (DS) have distinct complete blood count (CBC) reference ranges. This study establishes new pediatric norms for CBCs in DS patients, aiding clinical evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Hematology
- Genetics
- Immunology
Background:
- Children with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit higher rates of hematologic and immunologic abnormalities.
- Established normal ranges for complete blood counts (CBCs) in pediatric DS patients are lacking.
- Accurate reference ranges are crucial for diagnosing and managing potential health issues in children with DS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish age-related reference ranges for complete blood counts (CBCs) in healthy pediatric patients with Down syndrome (DS).
- To provide a valuable resource for clinicians evaluating CBC results in children with DS.
- To identify significant differences in blood count parameters between children with and without DS.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of CBC data from 355 healthy pediatric patients with DS (2011-2017).
- Inclusion of control data from 770 healthy pediatric patients without DS.
- Statistical analyses including Kruskal-Wallis H tests, nested ANOVA, and t-tests were employed.
Main Results:
- Age-specific normative curves (2.5th-97.5th percentiles) were generated for various CBC parameters.
- Parameters included white blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, and platelet counts.
- Significant statistical differences were observed in multiple blood counts between children with and without DS.
Conclusions:
- Patients with Down syndrome exhibit different reference ranges for multiple blood counts compared to their peers without DS.
- This study provides essential new reference data for pediatricians managing children with DS.
- The findings support the need for DS-specific CBC reference ranges in clinical practice.
Background:
Children with Down syndrome (DS) are more likely to have hematologic and immunologic abnormalities compared to their typically developing peers, but normal ranges have not been defined. The goal of this study was to create references for complete blood counts (CBCs) in patients with DS.
Methods:
A retrospective investigation of 355 (male = 196, 55.2%; mean age = 6.49 years, SD = 5.07) healthy pediatric patients with DS who received a CBC between 2011 and 2017 as part of their medical care at a single, large, pediatric teaching hospital. Control data on 770 healthy patients without DS were included. Descriptive statistics were performed on demographic and clinical characteristics. Kruskal-Wallis H tests, nested analysis-of-variance tests, and t-tests were run to determine the significant associations.
Results:
Age-related normative curves for healthy children with DS outlining 2.5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 97.5th percentiles are provided for total white blood count, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and platelet, absolute neutrophil, absolute lymphocyte, eosinophil, monocyte, and basophil counts. Statistical differences were found between children with and without DS receiving care at the same hospital based on matched age/sex groups.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates that patients with DS have different reference ranges for multiple blood counts compared to those without DS, creating a new resource for pediatricians to refer to when evaluating CBCs in this population.
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