Spectrum of Hemoglobinopathies in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad

Abstract

Hemoglobinopathies, including Thalassemia and sickle-cell syndromes are lifelong diseases with a significant impact on patients, families, and healthcare resources. Despite therapeutic progress, Pakistan, located within the Thalassemia belt, lacks comprehensive data on the epidemiology, clinical course, mortality, complications, and treatment outcomes of Thalassemia. Objective: To determine the frequency of haemoglobinopathies in Tertiary Care Hospital of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of 7 months was conducted on the local population of Islamabad and Rawalpindi from January 2020 to July 2020. Total 600 patients referred for Hb electrophoresis were initially selected for study. Data from 300 patients were collected from PIMS Hospital, Islamabad, and 300 from Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi. Clinical information for each patient was recorded separately, data were statistically analyzed using Microsoft Excel version 2016 and graphs were made on GraphPad Prism version 08. Results: Out of 600 patients from Rawalpindi and Islamabad 227 (37.84%) patients were found to have hemoglobinopathies. Beta Thalassemia trait was the most common disorder among those with hemoglobinopathies (47.13%), followed by beta Thalassemia major (23.34%), sickle Beta Thalassemia (10.57%), sickle cell disease (6.6%), Hb D trait (5.28%), Hb D/beta Thalassemia (3.96%), Hb E trait (2.2%), and sickle cell trait (0.88%). Conclusions: The study showed a significantly high frequency of hemoglobinopathies in the capital city Islamabad and Rawalpindi. β- Thalassemia trait and β- Thalassemia major were found in high frequency among various hemoglobin disorders.