Immuno-Hematological and Biochemical Changes in Patients with Tuberculosis in Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Dessie, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious worldwide health issue, particularly in developing nations like Ethiopia. Patients with tuberculosis experience a range of hematological, immunological, and biochemical alterations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate immunological, hematological, and biochemical alterations of newly diagnosed TB patients at Dessie comprehensive specialized hospital, Dessie, Ethiopia.

Methods

A comparative, cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the immuno-hematological and biochemical changes in patients with tuberculosis at Dessie comprehensive specialized hospital from January to July 2018. One hundred sixty-four (164) newly diagnosed TB patients, and 80 apparently healthy controls were included consecutively. The variables were expressed in frequency, percentage, and mean ± SD. To compare mean ± SD of the groups or within the groups, we used an independent sample t-test. Statistical significance was defined as a P value less than 0.05.

Results

Male TB patients had significantly high mean absolute WBC count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte, platelet count, and systemic immune-inflammation compared with male healthy controls (P=0.001, P=0.011 P=0.021, P=0.001, and P=0.018, respectively). The mean platelet count of female TB patients was significantly higher than that of the female control group (P=0.015). However, mean RBC counts, Hgb, HCT, and MPV of TB patients were significantly lower than those of male (p<0.001) and female healthy controls (P=0.022, 0.015, and 0.001, respectively). The TB patients had developed anemia (23.8%), WBC abnormalities (29.3%), thrombocytosis (11.6%), and thrombocytopenia (9.8%). The cases had significantly higher mean alanine amino transferase, total bilirubin, and glucose level, but the mean total protein, alkaline phosphatase, and total cholesterol of cases were significantly lower than healthy control groups.

Conclusion

TB patients in this study showed significant alterations in a number of hematological and biochemical profiles. This indicates that hematological and biochemical profiles should be monitored and properly interpreted for the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis and evaluation of response to treatment.

Keywords:

• tuberculosis
• pulmonary tuberculosis
• immunological markers
• hematological parameter
• lipid profile
• biochemical change

Abbreviations

C, Cholesterol; CBC, Complete blood count; ESR, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate; Hgb, Hemoglobin; HIV, Human immunodeficiency virus; IFN-γ, Interferon gamma; MPV, Mean platelet volume; Mtb, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; PTB, Pulmonary tuberculosis; RBC, Red blood cell; RDW, Red cell distribution width; TB, Tuberculosis; WBC, White blood Cell.

Data Sharing Statement

All relevant data are included in the document.

Acknowledgment

We express our gratitude to Wollo University for providing us the fund to carry out this study. We also thank the management and laboratory staff of Dessie comprehensive specialized hospital for their support and cooperation. The authors greatly appreciate each study participants for their collaboration and trust.

Author Contributions

All authors significantly contributed to the manuscript by participating in the ideation, study design, execution, data collection, analysis, and interpretation processes as well as in the writing, editing, and review of the article. All authors have agreed on the approval of the final manuscript to be published in the current journal and to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors state that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

Wollo University, http://www.wu.edu.et, provided financial assistance for this work. The responsibility of the university was closely monitoring and evaluating the research activity.