Abstract:
Background: Anemia is a worldwide public health problem and is also associated with platelet
disorders. The relationship between anemia and platelet is characterized as complex, with the
association being either normal platelet count or thrombocytosis. Platelets are significantly decreased
in people with anemia, and thrombocytopenia has been documented in patients with severe anemia.
There are few reports in the literature on the correlation between platelet count and red blood cell
parameters in anemic patients.
Objective: To compare the correlation of red blood parameters and platelet count in adult anemic
patients attending MaddaWalabu University Goba Referral Hospital: Goba, Southeast Ethiopia from
May 30 to July 30, 2022.
Method: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 352 subjects (176 anemic and 176
controls) who attended the hospital during the study period and were recruited using a convenient
sampling technique. Sociodemographic and other relevant variables were collected using a structured
questionnaire. Four milliliters of venous blood were collected and placed in a K 2 EDTA tube for analysis
of hematologic parameters using the Sysmex XN-550 (Sysmex Corp., Japan) automated hematology
analyzer; the hemoglobin value was used to determine anemia status. Data were entered into Epidata
Manager, version 4.6.0.2, and analyzed using SPSS Statistical Software, version 25. The independent-
sample t-test was used to compare parameters between groups, and correlation statistics was used to
correlate parameters between groups. Chi-square was used at a 95% confidence interval, considering P
< 0.05 statistically significant for association among categorical variables. ROC curve was used to
assess the diagnostic value of parameters in differentiating anemic from control.
Results: The correlation analysis showed that platelet count was significantly, positively correlated with
RBC, and negatively correlated with MCV, MCH, MCHC (r (p) = 0.168 (0.026) and -0.252 (0.000), -
0.275 (0.001), -0.218(0.004) respectively). It was also negatively correlated to HGB and HCT levels in
the healthy control (r (p) = -0.266(0.000) and -0.149 (0.049) respectively. Morphologically, 44.32%
were microcytic hypochromic anemia, 53.98% were normocytic normochromic anemia and 1.70% were
macrocytic anemia. There were significant differences in the area under the curve between Hgb and
RBC for distinguishing anemic patients from healthy controls
Conclusion and recommendation: The finding showed that platelet count variation correlates well with
red cell indices and morphologic types of anemia in adult anemic patients. Such correlation will enable
physicians to make diagnoses and administer treatments
