title: Pitted red cell counts in Nigerian children with sickle cell anaemia: correlation with age and splenic size.
abstract: Pit counts, using direct interference phase-contrast microscopy (Normansky Optics) were carried out on 32 HbSS patients, aged 3-17 years. The influence of age and splenic size on the counts was also investigated. Nine (9) HbAS and HbAA age and sex-matched, healthy individuals served as controls. The mean +/- SD counts in the 3 groups were 11.1 +/- 9.1%, 1.7 +/- 1.4% and 1.8 +/- 1.7% respectively. The older SS patients tended to have higher values, but the linear correlation with age was not impressive (r = 0.28). Seventeen (53.1%) of the patients had counts in excess of 10%, while 8 (25%) had less than 3.5%. Five patients who had gross splenomegaly had a mean count of 4.3 +/- 1.9%, which was significantly lower than the figure of 12.3 +/- 7.9% for the patients without splenomeglay (p less than 0.001), thus demonstrating retained reticuloendothelial function in such patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Adekile
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Adeodu
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Dairo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D009929:Organ Size; D010173:Palpation; D013163:Splenomegaly / Q000473:pathology*