Relationships between osmotic fragility of red blood cells and various hematologic data in workers exposed to lead.

This paper describes relationships between osmotic fragility (OF) of red blood cells and various hematologic data in 32 male workers exposed to lead and 30 controls. The examination included measurements of OF determined by the coil planet centrifuge system, red blood cell (RBC) count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), water of RBC, sodium and potassium of RBC, blood and urine lead, urine coproporphyrin, and urine delta-aminolevulinic acid. The results were: 1) OF was lower in lead workers at all three hemolytic points compared with the controls (P less than 0.05). 2) A difference in hemolysis pattern between the two groups was observed (P less than 0.05). 3) A close relationship was observed in both groups between OF and MCV (P less than 0.05), although the results were contrasting. Also a close relationship was observed in lead workers between OF and hematocrit, OF and hemoglobin, OF and MCH, and OF and intracellular potassium (P less than 0.05) but not in the controls. In the controls a close relationship was found between OF and RBC (P less than 0.05) but this was not observed in the lead workers. No significant relationship was observed in either group between OF and MCHC, OF and intracellular sodium, and OF and intracellular water. 4) No difference in RBC, hematocrit, hemoglobin, MCV, MCH, MCHC, and intracellular water, sodium and potassium was observed between both groups.