The relationship between some haematological parameters with length of stay and outcome in the intensive care unit of a tertiary health facility in Zaria, Northwestern Nigeria

Introduction: Intensive care units (ICUs) are reserved for critically ill patients that need specialist medical care with close and constant attention provided. Patients admitted into ICUs could have myriads of hematological abnormalities some of which have direct bearing on disease severity and outcome. There is a paucity of data on the relationship between hematological parameters of ICU patients and length of ICU stay as well as outcome in our environment, hence the need for this study. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective observational one, in which patients that are ≥18 years of age and had no blood transfusion within 24 h before ICU admission into the ICU of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, were recruited over a 3-month period from March 1, 2018 to May 31, 2018. Participants' sociodemographic characteristics, indications for admission, and some hematological parameters were assessed. Length of stay and outcome were also determined. Venous blood was collected from the patients for the determination of full blood count. Data were collated and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. Level of statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: Thirty-nine participants were enrolled into the study with a mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 32.7 ± 15.8 years. Females constituted 21/39 (53.8%) of the participants. The mean ± SD hematocrit (HCT) and blood cell count (WBC) were 28.1% ± 6.1% and 11.5 ± 4.3 (× 109/L), respectively, whereas the median (interquartile range [IQR]) platelet (PLT) count was 125.5 ± 82.4 (× 109/L). There was a positive, moderately strong, and statistically significant correlation between the duration of stay in ICU with WBC count. There were statistically significant differences in HCT, PLT, and WBC across categories of indication for admission into ICU (obstetrics complications, medical conditions, orthopedics/trauma, postoperative cases, and burns). The median (IQR) duration of ICU stay (days) in this study was 3.8 (1.9) days, and 18/39 (46.2%) were discharged home directly from the ICU. Conclusion: Anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia are common and vary according to the indications for admission and are associated with duration of stay and outcome in patients admitted into ICU in Zaria, Northwestern Nigeria.