Table 1.
Demographic clinical and laboratory characteristics of study participants
| Characteristics | Clinical groups | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| SMA | non-SMA | P-value | |
| (Hb < 6.0 g/dL) | (Hb ≥ 6.0 g/dL) | ||
| n = 114 | n = 160 | ||
| Sex, n (%) | |||
| Male | 49 (43.00) | 89 (55.40) | 0.039 a |
| Female | 65 (57.00) | 71 (44.60) | |
| Age, (months) | 8.0 (7.00) | 13.5 (8.80) | <0.001 b |
| Log10 of parasitemia | 4.09 (±0.07) | 4.24 (±0.06) | 0.088c |
| HDP (≥10, 000 parasites/μL) | 71/114 (62.3) | 115/160 (71.9) | 0.094a |
| Temperature, (°C) | 38.0 (1.20) | 38.0 (1.40) | 0.430b |
| Respiration rate, (breaths/min) | 32.0 (12.00) | 26.0 (14.00) | <0.001 b |
| Haematological indices | |||
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 5.00 (1.00) | 7.95 (3.00) | <0.001 b |
| Hematocrit, % | 15.90 (4.30) | 25.00 (7.40) | <0.001 b |
| RBC, (× 1012/μL) | 2.20 (0.86) | 3.72 (1.16) | <0.001 b |
| RDW, (%) | 23.00 (5.20) | 20.45 (4.40) | <0.001 b |
| WBC (×103/uL) | 13.50 (8.80) | 10.95 (5.90) | <0.001 b |
| Platelet Counts (×103/μL) | 150.00 (93.00) | 170.00 (13.10) | 0.025 b |
| Genetic characteristics | |||
| G6PD n (%) | 8 (7.00) | 12 (7.50) | 0.880 |
| Sickle cell trait, n (%) | 22 (19.30) | 46 (28.70) | 0.074 |
Data are presented as the median (interquartile range) and n (%) of children unless stated otherwise. Parasitemic children (n = 274 were categorized as SMA (n = 114) and non-SMA (n = 160) according to modified definition of SMA (Hb < 6.0 g/dL, with any density parasitemia). aStatistical significance was determined by the Chi-square (χ2) analysis. bStatistical significance was determined using Mann-Whitney U test. cStatistical significance was determined using Student’s t-test. Abbreviations: G6PD Glucose-6-Phaspahte dehydrogenase, HDP high density parasitemia, RBC-Red blood cells, RDW - Red cell distribution width; WBC-White blood cells. Probability values were considered statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05
Values in bold are significant p-values at a cut-off of p≤0.05