Open AccessHematological and CD4+ T- cell count reference interval for pregnant women attending antenatal care at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Hawassa Southern Ethiopia
Author(s) -
Yidnekachew Fiseha Gebere,
Lealem Gedefaw Bimerew,
Wondimagegn Adissu,
Demissie Assegu Fenta
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0249185
Subject(s) - medicine , reference range , pregnancy , cross sectional study , confidence interval , complete blood count , obstetrics , pediatrics , immunology , biology , pathology , genetics
Background Pregnancy is a state characterized by physiological, hematological, and immunological changes. However, the reference intervals (RI) being used in clinical practice in Ethiopia are derived from non-local general populations. Therefore; this study was aimed to determine the reference interval of hematological and immunological profiles among healthy pregnant mothers attending Hawassa University Hospital. Methods A cross-sectional study in a total of 360 healthy pregnant women was enrolled from January to April 2019, at Hawassa University hospital. Sociodemographic and obstetric data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Blood samples collected from each participant were used to define the hematological parameters. The median and 95% intervals were calculated for the immunological and hematological profiles. P-value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result A total of 360 healthy pregnant women were enrolled in this study. The age range of the participants was 18–45 years. 342(95%) were married and 270 (75%) of the participants were multigravida. The overall median CD4+ T-cell and total WBC counts (cells/mm3) were 602 and 7.58 respectively. The overall median value for lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophil count was (cells/mm3) was 2.21, 6.74, .63, .53, and 0.09 respectively. Whereas the median RBC and platelet count was 4.48×10 6 /μLand 212×10 6 /μL. The median value of hematological profiles in the first, second, and third trimesters was TWBC (10 3 /μL) (7.90, 8.30, 8.65), RBC (10 6 /μL) (4.5, 4.6, 4.62), and PLT (10 3 /μL) (210, 209,161) respectively. The CD4 T cell count median value was (600, 598, and 591) in the first, second, and third trimesters. Significant changes were observed in hematological and immunological parameters between trimesters (P < 0.05). Conclusion Significant changes were observed in hematological and immunological parameters between trimesters (P < 0.05). Considerable differences were also seen between the values in this study and other studies from Ethiopia and other countries, indicated the need for the development of local reference intervals for pregnant women.