Incidence of hemoglobinopathies and hemoglobin variants using HPLC as a diagnostic tool in 6500 anemic patients in a tertiary care center in Western India

Dr A K Biswas; Dr Joseph Philip

Volume : VI, Issue : III, March - 2016

Incidence of hemoglobinopathies and hemoglobin variants using HPLC as a diagnostic tool in 6500 anemic patients in a tertiary care center in Western India

Dr A K Biswas, Dr Joseph Philip

Abstract :

 To determine the incidence of various hemoglobinopathies among anemic patients in Western India, a six year prospective study was conducted on 6,500 anemic patients. All the samples were analyzed on the Bio–Rad Variant II HPLC system. Out of 6500 patients, 740 (11.38%) cases showed abnormal Hb fractions. The major abnormality observed was of beta thalassemia trait (BTT) with a total of 522 cases (8.03%) followed by 42 (0.65%) cases of beta thalassemia major. Other hemoglobinopathies which were also identified are in the following proportions: HbE (67 (1.03%) cases), HbS (85 (1.31%) cases), HbD Punjab 12 (0.18%) cases, HbQ (2 (0.03%) cases), Double heterozygous HbE–BTT (3 cases), Double heterozygous HbS–BTT (6 cases) and one case of HPFH. The reliability of HPLC for the detection of beta thalassemias is of great advantage in a country like India, where the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies and hemoglobin variants is high. An early and precise diagnosis is very important for their clinical management and providing genetic counselling to prevent more serious hemoglobinopathies.