Child Hemogram in Abidjan, Cte d'Ivoire

The haemogram of the African knows modifications which are specific to him because of the geographical, pathological and socio-cultural environment. The reference values used in our laboratories for the interpretation of results are of European or American origin. It therefore seemed useful to establish frequent values of the haemogram in 1841 apparently healthy children aged 0 to 15 years living in Abidjan The physiological evolution of the haemogram values is consistent with the literature. They are high at birth, increase within 48 hours and then decrease regularly. However, the decrease in erythrocyte values is more pronounced in Abidjan infants between 2 and 3 months of age with a second drop between 7 and 8 months of age at the time of weaning. The inversion of the leukocyte formula occurs between the 5th and 6th day. There is also a relative lymphocytosis and leuko-neutropenia and an eosinophilia due to the adaptation of the individual to his environment. Platelet values vary within physiological limits. Mean values and standard deviations were calculated with a 95% confidence interval for reference.