Complete blood count reference intervals from a healthy adult urban population in Kenya
Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Abstract
Background: There are racial, ethnic and geographical differences in complete blood count (CBC) reference
intervals (RIs) and therefore it is necessary to establish RIs that are population specific.
Several studies have been carried out in Africa to derive CBC RIs but many were not
conducted with the rigor recommended for RI studies hence limiting the adoption and generalizability
of the results.
Method:
By use of a Beckman Coulter ACT 5 DIFF CP analyser, we measured CBC parameters in
samples collected from 528 healthy black African volunteers in a largely urban population.
The latent abnormal values exclusion (LAVE) method was used for secondary exclusion of
individuals who may have had sub-clinical diseases. The RIs were derived by both parametric
and non-parametric methods with and without LAVE for comparative purposes.
Results:
Haemoglobin (Hb) levels were lower while platelet counts were higher in females across
the 4 age stratifications. The lower limits for Hb and red blood cell parameters significantly
increased after applying the LAVE method which eliminated individuals with latent anemia
and inflammation. We adopted RIs by parametric method because 90% confidence intervals
of the RI limits were invariably narrower than those by the non-parametric method. The
male and female RIs for Hb after applying the LAVE method were 14.5±18.7 g/dL and 12.0±
16.5 g/dL respectively while the platelet count RIs were 133±356 and 152±443 x103 per μL
respectively. Conclusion:
Consistent with other studies from Sub-Saharan Africa, Hb and neutrophil counts were
lower than Caucasian values. Our finding of higher Hb and lower eosinophil counts compared
to other studies conducted in rural Kenya most likely reflects the strict recruitment
criteria and healthier reference population after secondary exclusion of individuals with possible
sub-clinical diseases.
Description
CITATION: Omuse, G., et al. 2018. Complete blood count reference intervals from a healthy adult urban population in Kenya. PLoS ONE, 13(6):e0198444, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0198444.
The original publication is available at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
The original publication is available at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
Keywords
Blood – Analysis -- Kenya, Adulthood -- Health risk assessment -- Kenya
Citation
Omuse, G., et al. 2018. Complete blood count reference intervals from a healthy adult urban population in Kenya. PLoS ONE, 13(6):e0198444, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0198444