Some haematological parameters of welders exposed to oxyacetylene in Calabar, Nigeria.

Introduction: The welder’s flame contains toxic and mutagenic compounds that pose a potential health hazard associated with the occupation. This study assessed some haematological parameters in a population of welders in Calabar, Southern Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 50 welders exposed to oxyacetylene as test subjects and 50 non-welders as controls. The haematological parameters were analyzed using the Sysmex XE- 2100 haematology autoanalyser. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 with Student’s t-test and Pearson’s correlation. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The platelets count was significantly lower (p=0.041) in the welders compared to the controls while neutrophils count was significantly higher (p=0.0001) in the welders than in the controls. The neutrophils count was significantly lower (p=0.0001) in welders exposed for 1-5 years compared to those exposed for over 5 years. Red blood cell count correlated negatively with platelets count (r= -0.415, p =0.003) while MCHC and MCV correlated negatively (r= -0.428, p =0.002) Conclusions: The study revealed a significant reduction and increase in platelets and neutrophils counts respectively in the welders exposed to oxyacetylene gas