Hematological indices in human immunodeficiency virus and pulmonary tuberculosis infections in parts of Delta State, Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: To enhance the care and management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) positive patients, as part of an overall effort to reduce morbidity and mortality of HIV-related death in Nigeria.

METHODS: Hematological investigations were carried out on 205 patients suspected of HIV and/or TB, and 100 apparently healthy control subjects in Kwale, Agbor, and Eku in parts of Delta State, Nigeria from February 2006 to February 2008. World Health Organization systems 2 for HIV-1&2 antibodies screening technique was used for the screening of the subject's HIV status, Ziehl Nelson technique for TB, hematocrit, and Leishman staining techniques were used for full blood count determination.

RESULTS: Our results showed that the mean packed cell volume obtained for infected subjects was statistically significant (p=0.0000074) when compared to the control subject's value. The mean neutrophil and eosinophil counts obtained were of specific disease diagnostic relevance when compared to the control group. The gender related distributions of hematological indices were compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION: The study confirms the importance of full blood count in the monitoring and management of HIV and TB infections.