OPTIMIZATION OF DTT BUFFER VOLUME IN DITHIONITE TUBE TEST (DTT) WITH RESPECT TO HEMOGLOBIN CONCENTRATION USED FOR FIELD SCREENING OF SICKLE HEMOGLOBIN (HbS)

Jignisha S Patel; Dr. Jigna P. Naik

Volume : VI, Issue : II, February - 2016

OPTIMIZATION OF DTT BUFFER VOLUME IN DITHIONITE TUBE TEST (DTT) WITH RESPECT TO HEMOGLOBIN CONCENTRATION USED FOR FIELD SCREENING OF SICKLE HEMOGLOBIN (HbS)

Jignisha S Patel, Dr. Jigna P. Naik

Abstract :

<p>For field screening of sickle hemoglobin, the first method of choice is Dithionite Tube Test (DTT). This is because DTT is a simple, rapid and user friendly test. Though DTT test is not 100% sensitive and specific, its user friendly features makes it the first choice for mass screening as well as for routine laboratory testing. There are various DTT buffer compositions and test procedures for performing this test are prevailing in literature. This study was performed to find out the most appropriate DTT buffer volume to achieve highest sensitivity and specificity which is suitable for the field conditions. Here we have also focused on hemoglobin concentration of test samples. In order to perform this experiment, total 50 well characterized clinical samples were analyzed. We found that 1.5 mL and 2.0 mL of DTT buffer volumes have shown higher sensitivity and specificity with different types of blood samples. But by considering the importance of visual result interpretation of DTT test, 2 mL buffer along with 20 &micro;L of blood sample has given the easiest and accurate result interpretation which adds in userfriendlyness of the test. By adopting this test parameter, one can easily decrease the rate of false positive and false negative test results during sickle cell screening.</p>