Introduction: The prevalence of anemia among patients with malaria is very common from subsequent erythrocytes destruction and should be managed most appropriately. This study aimed to explore the changes in hematological parameters and their underlying influence among people with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infection.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among uncomplicated malaria patients infected by P. falciparum on community-based active screening days in one of the highest malaria hot-spot areas of northwestern Cambodia. Descriptive statistics, and student t-tests were used to analyze the data.
Results: Among 103 malaria blood samples, the results showed that most participants had thrombocytopenia (84.5%). More than one-half of the participants presented normal levels of the following hematological parameters: red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and red cell distribution width (RDW). A significant correlation was noted between parasite counts and three body mass index (BMI) groups (P=0.047). Next, a strong association was also seen between parasite counts and body temperature (P=0.03). Statistically significant differences in parasite count were observed across three levels of neutrophil (P=0.005), lymphocyte (P=0.001), eosinophil (P<0.001), absolute lymphocyte (P=0.001) and absolute eosinophil (P<0.001) counts.
Conclusion: The results of this study revealed the significant role of hematological parameters in predicting the presence of malaria infection, parasite density, and forecasting adverse consequences of malaria, together with the underlying risk factors.