Hematological parameters in patients of cleft lip and cleft palate with special reference to eosinophil counts.

Introduction: Birth abnormalities like cleft lip and cleft palate account for about 1.4 per 1000 live births in India. These are seen to be associated with a high incidence of eosinophilia which delays the surgical management of these patients.

Aims: The aim of this paper is to study the hematological parameters in patients of cleft lip and cleft palate.

Patients And Methods: A total of 223 cases of cleft lip and cleft palate were taken up for the study. Hematological parameters including hemoglobin, total leukocyte count, differential leukocyte count, absolute eosinophil count, and red cell indices were studied.

Results: Anemia was found in 182/223 (81.63%) cases which was most commonly of microcytic hypochromic type. Eosinophilia was seen in 46/223 (20.60%) cases.

Conclusions: Many cleft lip and cleft palate patients show high eosinophil counts. Absolute eosinophil count was found to be a better parameter for assessment of eosinophils.