Haemostatic Changes in Patients with Lymphoid Malignancies on Chemotherapy in Benin City, Edo State

Background and Objective: The involvement of haemostasis in lymphoid malignancy is of great importance. Thrombosis may occur as a result of some lymphoid malignancies and chemotherapeutic agents used. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate some haemostatic functional changes such as platelet counts and factor V in lymphoid malignant patients on chemotherapy to determine their clinical significance. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective study carried out in a tertiary hospital in Benin City, Edo State. A total of 60 patients, comprising of 20 lymphoid malignant patients on chemotherapy, 20 novel lymphoid malignant patients and 20 controls participated in the study. Factor V analysis using the one-stage method and platelet count analysis using the electronic impedance principle in the haematology analyzer was done. Results: The results revealed that there was a significant decrease of coagulation factor (p<0.001) and a significant increase in platelet count (p<0.05) for the comparison of novel lymphoid malignant patients and the control group. Furthermore, for lymphoid malignant patients on chemotherapy, there was a significant decrease of coagulation factor (p<0.05) and not significant for platelet count (p>0.05) compared with control. However, there was no significance for factor V (p>0.05) and platelet count (p>0.05) for lymphoid malignant patients on chemotherapy and novel lymphoid malignant patients. Conclusion: The results showed that lymphoid malignancy is associated with the haemostatic disorder and that chemotherapy had a therapeutic effect on the platelets and not on factor V. For effective management of the lymphoid malignant patients, there should be routine screening for all the specific single coagulation factors assay and platelet count before the commencement of the chemotherapy.