OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the main hematological changes and hepatic markers (AST and ALT) in patients infected with Plasmodium vivax treated at Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Coari, Amazonas State, Brazil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Samples were collected from 77 patients infected with P. vivax and 58 control subjects. The complete blood count and dosages of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were performed at Fundação Hospitalar de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Amazonas. Statistical analyzes were performed with GraphPad Prism v5.0 software.

RESULTS:

It was observed, during collection, that most of the patients complained of myalgia (92%), asthenia (87%), dyspnea (84%), chills (75%), and fever (69%), besides having an increase in the concentrations of the AST and ALT enzymes. About hematological characteristics, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and a significant decrease in mean globular hemoglobin concentration and mean globular volume were observed.

CONCLUSION:

The results suggest that the presence of these hematological changes and the increase in the parasite load did not influence the occurrence of severe cases of that disease; but changes in the concentrations of AST and ALT may indicate hepatic impairment. In addition, the interaction networks among the components evaluated in P. vivax infection can be used as a prognostic tool in future studies.

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