Evaluation of Haematological Indices and Trace Elements in Leukaemia Patients Receiving Care at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Leukaemia is a malignant condition of the haematopoietic system marked by the uncontrolled proliferation of leukocytes and the interruption of normal blood cell formation. Changes in haematological indices and trace element levels may affect the development of the disease, the response to treatment, and the clinical consequences. This study examined haematological indices and specific trace elements in leukaemia patients undergoing treatment at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Rivers State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was performed with 63 people, including 32 males and 31 females diagnosed with leukaemia, alongside seemingly healthy persons serving as controls. Each participant had five millilitres of blood taken from a vein. Two millilitres were put into EDTA tubes for blood tests, and three millilitres were allowed to clot, spun at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes, and the serum was taken out for trace element tests. An automated haematology analyser was used to find out the haematological parameters, and colorimetric methods were used to find out the serum trace elements. We used SPSS version 21 to look at the data, and the results were given as mean ± standard deviation. A p-value of less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.The average white blood cell (WBC) count in leukaemia patients (33.37 ± 63.30 ×10⁹/L) was much greater than in controls (5.91 ± 2.34 ×10⁹/L; p = 0.001). In contrast, red blood cell count (4.06 ± 1.27 ×10¹²/L), packed cell volume (30.82 ± 10.97%), mean corpuscular volume (28.04 ± 3.69), eosinophils (0.85 ± 1.33%), basophils (0.10 ± 0.30%), and serum iron (62.40 ± 42.63 µg/dL) were significantly lower in leukaemia patients compared to controls (4.58 ± 0.73 ×10¹²/L, 37.17 ± 6.68%, 29.71 ± 3.24, 2.67 ± 2.50%, 0.25 ± 0.51%, and 98.61 ± 22.47 µg/dL, respectively; p < 0.05). Serum calcium (Ca²⁺) levels were considerably elevated in leukaemia patients (2.27 ± 0.21 mmol/L) relative to controls (p = 0.018). In leukaemia patients, iron had a strong positive association with haemoglobin (r = 0.296, p = 0.019) and a strong negative correlation with platelet count (r = –0.403, p = 0.001). Leukaemia patients have substantial changes in haematological parameters and trace element concentrations. These metrics may function as significant biomarkers for disease surveillance, prognosis, and therapeutic decision-making in the management of leukaemia at UPTH.