Reference intervals and gender variation in establishing blood parameters in dental institution: A retrospective study

Abstract

Complete blood count (CBC) has been extensively used by general physicians to assess the status of sick and healthy people. The aim of the present study was to appraise the hematological changes in different blood parameters amongst males and females and also to set a reference range for general population. The study was conducted on 361 patients of age 18-50 years comprising of 163 males (45.2%) and 198 females (54.8%).20 µl sample of capillary blood was obtained through finger prick and subjected to complete blood count, including a white blood cell (WBC) differential and a reticulocyte count, by means of a fully automatic blood cell counter. The findings were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.The mean values of the RBC, Hb, HCT, MCV, MCH between males and females showed statistically highly significant reduction with p < 0.001, while MCHC was significantly reduced with p < 0.05 in females compared to males (). Haematological parameters such as PLT, PCT were slightly higher in females compared to males showing statistically significant results with p < 0.05. Blood parameters aid in diagnosis of various disorders and also serve to guide decision making for clinicians. Therefore, periodically establishing reference intervals is crucial for better correlation with health and disease conditions. Our findings would serve to update present available data pertaining to blood parameters, their reference range and gender variation on a regional level.