Comparative Study of Derangements in Some Indices of Platelet Function among Asymptomatic COVID-19 and Malaria Infected Subjects in a Tropical Setting

The coronavirus (COVID-19) infection is one of the emerging infections that has ravaged the world. The hypercoagulable status reported in severe malaria infection, which implicates the involvement of platelets, has also been reported in COVID-19 infection. This study was carried out to evaluate platelet indices among malaria and COVID-19 positive subjects in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The cross-sectional, case-control study design was employed for this study, where a total of fifty-five (55) malaria positive subjects, fifty-five (55) COVID-19 positive subjects, fifty-five (55) co-infected subjects and fifty-five (55) control subjects who were within the ages of twenty (20) to sixty-five (65) years old. Five millilitres (5ml) of venous blood was collected aseptically and dispensed into Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant bottle for the assay of platelet indices and malaria parasite detection from the thick blood film that was made. Also nasopharyngeal swab was collected for confirmation of COVID-19 positive subjects using RT-PCR technique. The mean values of the PDW of the subjects were as follows; malaria parasite subjects (15.21 ± 0.22 fL), COVID-19 subjects (15.21 ± 0.22 fL), COVID-19 + malaria subjects (15.61 ± 0.21 fL) and control subjects (13.26 ± 0.17 fL). These results revealed that the mean PDW values were significantly higher in COVID-19 and malaria subjects as well as in co-infection with COVID-19 and malaria. (F-value = 25.850, p = 0.001). No significant changes were observed in the other platelet parameters (platelet count, mean platelet volume and plateletcrit) (p> 0.05). Amongst other platelet parameters, the platelet distribution width appear to possess a potential diagnostic value for mild/asymptomatic COVID-19 and the case is not different in malaria infection in the tropical region of Nigeria.