Altered haematological parameters in children with malaria infection, a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: This study aimed to illustrate the effect of malaria infection on red blood cell parameters in children and evaluate the diagnostic relevance of haematological parameters in predicting malaria. Methods: The studies were identified through databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus to retrieve related articles. Fourteen studies were selected by literature search based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a meta-analysis on different red blood cell parameters was performed. Results: Haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration, and RBC count show statistically significant findings with p values of (<0.00001), (p<0.00001) and (p=0.0004), respectively. Other parameters like MCV, MCH, and MCHC show statistically non-significant results with p values of 0.21, 0.36, and 0.63, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the above findings, the combination of haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, and RBC counts could be used as reliable parameters to predict the presence of infection and included in the diagnostic strategy for malaria in children.