An association of leishmaniasis and dyserythropoiesis in children

Spectrum of clinicohematological profile and its correlation with average parasite density in visceral leishmaniasis

Background:

Leishmaniasis is the prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Demonstration of Leishman-Donovan (LD) bodies in the bone marrow aspirates (BMA) is vital to diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). In the present study, we studied the clinicohematological parameters encountered in VL and correlated them with parasite load on BMA.

Methods:

Retrospective analysis over 3 years was done; clinical details, biochemical profile, complete hemogram with peripheral smear findings, and BMA smears were reviewed and average parasite density (APD) calculated in each case. Multivariate analysis and tests of significance were applied.

Results:

The study included 28 patients. Splenomegaly showed a positive trend with APD. rK39 antigen detection test was 100% positive in select cases. A strong negative correlation was observed between albumin to globulin ratio and grade of APD. BMA revealed hemophagocytosis (HPS) in 78.57% cases and it had a significant strong correlation with APD (P = 0.014). A significant correlation was also observed between APD and bone marrow plasma cell percentage (P = 0.01). LD bodies were noted in unusual locations such as within myelocytes (14.2%), plasma cells (7.1%), and megakaryocytes (10.7%).

Conclusion:

HPS and bone marrow plasmacytosis were two statistically significant findings, which showed positive correlation with parasite load. The presence of these two findings should prompt hematopathologists for more focused search of hemoparasites in BMA to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. This will avoid unnecessary workups and improve the prognosis. To the best of our knowledge, a statistical correlation between APD and clinicohematological parameters has never been previously studied.

Hematological Characteristics of Yemeni Adults and Children with Visceral Leishmaniasis. Could Eosinopenia be a Suspicion Index?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Delay in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) particularly in non-endemic areas is associated with higher mortality. In our experience, we found that marked bone marrow eosinopenia was a very frequent accompaniment of VL and might be a useful clue for the diagnosis, which indicates the opportunity for further morphological assessment. The aim of this study was to describe the hematological characteristics including peripheral blood and bone marrow findings of Yemeni adults and children with VL.

METHODS

We conducted a descriptive analytic study to evaluate systematically peripheral blood and bone marrow findings of Yemeni adults and children with VL. Peripheral blood and bone marrow aspiration of patients with bone marrow aspirate confirmed VL were examined. Forty-seven patients with the main age (±SD) of 17.34±11.37 years (Range: 1-60) were included in the study. Fifty-one non-VL subjects with splenomegaly and pancytopenia or bicytopenia served as control group.

RESULTS

All patients with VL had anemia, 41 (87%) leukopenia, 42 (89%) neutropenia, 44 (94%) thrombocytopenia, 42 (89%) eosinopenia, 34 (72%) pancytopenia and 13 (28%) had bicytopenia. In bone marrow examination 40 (85%) showed hypercellularity, 44 (94%) eosinopenia, 24 (51%) dyserythropoiesis, 22 (47%) lymphocytosis, 8 (17%) plasmacytosis, 27 (57%) decreased iron stores and 20 (43%) showed decreased sideroblasts. Comparison of VL patients with the control group showed significantly more frequent peripheral blood eosinopenia and lymphopenia and marrow eosinopenia. There was no significant difference between adults and children in any of the hematological features.

CONCLUSION

Anemia, leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, eosinopenia, pancytopenia and marked bone marrow eosinopenia were the most common findings. The finding of marked bone marrow eosinopenia is a significant clue for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in patients who present with splenomegaly associated with cytopenias. This finding is particularly valuable in non-endemic areas.