EARLY DIAGNOSTIC ROLE OF HEMATOLOGICAL INDICES AND HBA2 LEVELS IN BETA THALASSEMIA TRAIT: A TERTIARY CARE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The aim of study is screening of the beta thalassemia trait (BTT) with the help of CBC parameters. This ratio was used as a cost-effective screening tool for the identification of thalassemia carriers for the awareness and prevention of beta thalassemia major. A total of 150 individuals were selected who reported in AMTF for the screening of beta thalassemia trait (BTT). Among those 100 individuals were analyzed for complete blood count (CBC) and for that purpose, the blood samples were collected in Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes and analyzed on automated hematology analyzer K-4500. The ratio between Hb and RBCs was estimated for each sample for the screening of beta thalassemia trait. According to the results (n=50) had normal ratio while (n=50) showed thalassemia trait ratio, the subjects with normal ratio were used as control while the remaining as test subjects. The Hb-Electrophoresis done by Cellulose acetate method as confirmatory test of thalassemia trait. The data was analyzed on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) by T-Test. The cut off (3.5) or more for Hb-A2 was taken for the diagnosis of beta thalassemia trait (n =56) had normal amount of Hb-A2 and 50 % had a ratio of 2.2 or more, while (n= 44) had Hb-A2 level of 3.5 or more while 50 % had a ratio of less than 2.2.  The p-value between the two arms was significant <0.05