Abstract
Objective: Vivax malaria is common in Pakistan. We carried out this study to determine the effects of this infection on blood counts and the impact of splenomegaly on these results.
Methods: This was a retrospective observational study carried out at 1 Mountain Medical Battalion, Bagh, Azad Kashmir. Old medical records of all patients admitted with vivax malaria from Jan 2010 to Oct 2012 were scrutinized. The presence or absence of a palpable spleen and the results of complete blood counts and platelet counts measured at the time of admission were noted down. Anaemia was defined as Hb<13g/dl in men, leukopenia as total leukocyte count (TLC)<4000/µl and thrombocytopenia as platelets count <150000/µl. Data was analysed with STATA version 12.1. The results of haematology parameters were compared amongst patients with splenomegaly and the rest.
Results: Anaemia was seen in 22.15%, neutropenia in 23.49% and thrombocytopenia in 90.60% of the 149 male patients having a mean age of 27.54±5.11 years. The differences in mean blood counts and the number of patients with haematological abnormalities in the two groups were statistically insignificant.
Conclusion: Since the blood counts are not affected by presence or absence of splenomegaly, mechanisms other than hypersplenism are important.

Key words: Anaemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, malaria, splenomegaly