1 and a marked decrease in red cell survival. Reticulocytes are increased and platelet and white blood cell counts lowered compared to previous steady-state values. Haematologically, hypersplenism is rarely clearly defined. The wider literature also treats hypersplenism as a firm endpoint, resulting in a binary statistical treatment of this condition e.g. 4 . While this classification is important for clinical management, its use in epidemiological investigations is simplistic and potentially misleading.
Objectives Examine the distribution of spleen size.
Classify this distribution taking into account the modifying effects of age. Highlight the problems of cut-point choice. Use graphical techniques here. Eg the histogram vs kernal density estimation. Reference List 1.