RED BLOOD CELL INDICES

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways, characterized by recurring episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma models are widely used to study allergic asthma and its systemic effects, including alterations in red blood cell (RBC) indices. This study investigates the impact of varying methods of OVA administration on RBC indices in female Wistar rats. This study involved 42 female Wistar rats weighing 140-180g who were acclimatized for one week. They were divided into six different groups of 7 rats. During the experimental process, all groups (2-6) were sensitized with 1 mg OVA and 20 mg AlOH dissolved in 0.9 saline on days 1, 7 and 14, then challenged with 1 % OVA biweekly for 28 days. Group 1 control; Group 2 sensitised on days 1 and 7; Group 3 sensitized on days 1, 7 and 14; Group 4 sensitised on day 1 and challenged; Group 5 sensitised on days 1 and 7 and challenged; Group 6 sensitised on day 1, 7 and 14 and challenged. All animal were euthanized at the end of 28 days. Statistical analysis was performed using one- way variance analysis (ANOVA). The result showed no statistically significant difference in red blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and red cell distribution in all the groups compared to the control (p>0.05); also, there was a significant decrease in haematocrit and mean corpuscular volume in the group sensitised on days 1, 7 and 14 compared to control (p<0.05). In conclusion, these ovalbumin-induced asthma methods did not affect red cell indices except on haematocrit and mean corpuscular volume in female Wistar rats.