EVALUATION OF THE MOST RELIABLE FORMULA BASED ON RBC INDICES TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN β-THALASSAEMIA TRAIT AND IRON DEFICIENCY ANAEMIA IN TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL - CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Hemoglobinopathies are the most common genetic disorders reported worlwide. According to WHO, 5% of the world population is a carrier for hemoglobin disorders. The aim of the study was to determine the most Aims and objective: reliable formula based on RBC indices for screening β-Thalassemia Trait (βTT) and iron deciency anaemia (IDA).Materials and Methods: During 1.5 year period, a cross-sectional study was carried out on 110 diagnosed cases of IDA and βTT of all age groups. All the samples were tested for complete blood count and HPLC study. Results: The Mentzer index showed good sensitivity, specicity, with Youden's index values of 98.7%, 82.3%, and 81%, respectively. Mentzer index> Srivastava index> Green and King index> England and Fraser index> Ricerca index> Shine and Lal index. The percentage of Conclusion: correctly diagnosed patients of ß-TT as well as IDA was the highest with the Mentzer index (87.27%). Cell-count-based parameters and formulas, particularly the MCV and RBC counts and their related indices (Mentzer index), have good discrimination ability in distinguishing ß-TT from IDA.