Effect of periodic exposure to formaldehyde in the anatomy laboratory on some haematological indices in male Wistar rats

Background: The effect of periodic exposure to formaldehyde on some haematological indices in male Wistar rat was studied. Materials and Methods: The Wistar rats were divided into three groups A,B and C with 5 animals in each group. Group A served as control with nil exposure while groups B and C were the test groups with 5 months exposure on non-dissection days and dissection days respectively. Formaldehyde air level was measured both at experimental and control sites. Some haematological parameters measured include Red blood cell count, Haemoglobin concentration, White blood cell count: total and differential, and platelet count. Statistical analysis was done using Graph Pad Prism version 5.0. Results were presented as Mean ± SEM. Analysis of Variance was used to compare the means of test and control values while post hoc test was done using Student Newman Keul’s test and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Results revealed significant increase in formaldehyde air level in the dissection hall. There was significant increase in total white blood cell count when compared with control while red blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration and platelet count were not significant. Conclusion: It was therefore concluded that periodic exposure to formaldehyde in the Anatomy laboratory may have no effect on most haematological indices in Wistar rats although the white blood cells may be affected.