학술논문
FREQUENCY OF BETA THALASSEMIA TRAIT IN A MEDICAL SCHOOL OF KARACHI, PAKISTAN.
Document Type
Article
Source
Subject
*THALASSEMIA
*MEDICAL students
*HEMOGLOBINS
*ELECTROPHORESIS
*ELECTROCHEMISTRY
*PHASE partition
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Language
ISSN
1681-5491
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the frequency of ?- Thalassemia trait (BTT) in a medical students of Karachi, Pakistan and to confirm the validity of Naked Eye Single Tube Red cell Osmotic Fragility Test (NESTROFT) to qualify for a mass screening test for BTT detection. SETTING: An analytical cross sectional study, performed from Jan 2010 to May 2010 was conducted at Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi, Pakistan. MATERIAL & METHODS: An analytic cross sectional study of 266 medical students (mean age 23.9 years) was conducted at a medical school in Karachi via medical camp. With written informed consent, EDTA anti-coagulated whole blood samples were collected for on-site NESTROFT testing, and later tested for Complete Blood Count (CBC) and serum Ferritin concentration at Dow Diagnostics Reference & Research laboratory, DUHS, Karachi. Screening for BTT was done on Naked Eye Single Tube Red cell Osmotic Fragility Test (NESTROFT) with 0.36% freshly prepared saline. The diagnosis of BTT was confirmed on automated Hemoglobin Electrophoresis at cellulose acetate - alkaline pH. Hemogram indices (automated Hematology cell counter cell-tac alpha) were assessed along with peripheral smear morphology (Leishman's stained slides) as enhanced tool for BTT case finding. RESULTS: Females were 78.2% and males were 21.8%. Mean hemoglobin was 13.02g/ dl, Red blood cell (RBC) count was 4.77 x 1012/L, Hematocrit 39.12, Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 82.04, Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) 27.44 and Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) 33.30. The overall frequency of ?-Thalassemia Trait (BTT) observed in students was 5.3%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and efficiency of NESTROFT were 85%, 97%, 61%, 99% and 96.6% respectively. CONCLUSION: With a 5.3% rate of BTT, studies on national level are needed to know the actual prevalence in premarital people. NESTROFT is economical, sensitive and specific screening test can be used for screening for BTT in resource limited settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]