From the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Obafemi. Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and the Center for Sickle. Cell Disease, Howard University ...
PITTED RED CELL COUNTS IN NIGERIAN CHILDREN WITH SICKLE CELL ANEMIA: CORRELATION WITH AGE AND SPLENIC SIZE Adekunle D. Adekile, MD, Carl A. Reindorf, MD, Olugbenga A. Adeodu, MD, Winston Johnson, and Bankole A. Dairo Ile-Ife, Nigeria and Washington, DC
Using direct interference phase-contrast microscopy (Notmansky Optics), pit counts were performed on 32 HbSS patients, aged 3 to 17 years. The influence of age and splenic size on counts were also investigated. Nine HbSS and 15 HbAA age and sex-matched, healthy individuals served as controls. The mean ± SD counts in the three 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%) patients had counts >10%, while 8 (25%) had 1O years, was 13.4±8.2%. Seventeen patients (53.1%), had values >10%, while 8 (25%) had values
