TY - JOUR AU - Darakhshan Ahmad , Nadeem Ikram , Shabnum Bashir, Asif Yasin, PY - 2018/03/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Discrimination Indices for Diagnosis of Beta(β) Thalassemia Trait JF - Journal of Rawalpindi Medical College JA - JRMC VL - 22 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - UR - http://journalrmc.com/index.php/JRMC/article/view/839 SP - AB - <p>Background: To determine the reliability of<br>hematological indices and derived formulas in<br>diagnosing beta thalassemia trait.<br>Methods: In this observational cohort study,<br>patients diagnosed as beta thalassaemia minor were<br>included. All hematological indices were<br>recorded.Haemoglobin electrophoresis was<br>performed using capillarys 2 flex piercing system.<br>An HbA2 value &gt; 3.5% was considered as a cut-off<br>point for beta-thalassemia trait. Fourteen<br>haematological indices were then applied according<br>to the formulae and cut off values. Percentage of<br>positive cases accurately identified along with the<br>mean, median and mode were calculated for each<br>discrimination index.<br>Results: The study cohort constituted of total 493<br>patients, out of which 246 (49.9%) were male and 247<br>(50.1%) were females. The mean age of all the<br>patients was 20.34 +12.835, with range of 6-50 years.<br>The mean haemoglobin level of all patients was<br>10.82+1.64 and ranged between 4.60 and 16.30. A red<br>blood cell count more than 4.9 X 10 12/l and a MCH<br>less that 25 pg were the most consistent findings.<br>Srivastava index was more near to predicting beta<br>thalassaemia minor .<br>Conclusion: Red cell indices and discrimination<br>factors have a potential utility in screening for β<br>thalassaemia trait , keeping in view their sensitivity<br>and specificity</p> ER -