Background. Volume of red cells in capillary blood varies from that of venous blood.The magnitude of this variation as well as its\r\nimpact on the diagnosis of anaemia in pregnancy needs to be studied. This study demonstrates the disparity between capillary and\r\nvenous PCV in pregnancy. Objectives. To determine whether capillary blood PCV (cPCV) differed fromvenous blood PCV (vPCV)\r\nof normal pregnant women in Enugu, Nigeria, and its effect on diagnosis and prevalence of anaemia. Methods. PCVwas estimated\r\nusing pairs of venous and capillary blood samples from 200 consecutive pregnant women at the Antenatal Clinic of University\r\nof Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. Results. Participantsââ?¬â?¢ cPCV (median = 34.0%, IQR = 31.0ââ?¬â??35.8) was significantly\r\nlower than their vPCV (median = 34.0%, IQR = 32.0ââ?¬â??37.0) (?? = -6.85, ?? < 0.001). However, womenââ?¬â?¢s cPCV had strong positive\r\ncorrelation with their vPCV (?? = 0.883, ?? < 0.001). The prevalence of anaemia among participants using capillary and venous\r\nblood was 33.5% (67/200) and 28.0% (56/200), respectively (O.R = 1.3 (CI 95%: 0.85, 1.98), ?? = 0.233). Conclusions. Capillary\r\nblood PCV was lower than vPCV among pregnant women in Enugu, Nigeria. Nevertheless, the prevalence of anaemia derived\r\nfrom cPCV did not differ significantly from that of vPCV.
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