MENTZER INDEX IN PEDIATRIC THALASSEMIA TRAIT

摘要

Thalassemia is a group of inherited diseases of the blood that affect a person's ability to produce hemoglobin, resulting in anemia. The incidence of thalassaemia carriers is high in regions such as Mediterranean, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and South China. In the past few decades, migrants from the thalassaemia prevalent countries to non-prevalent countries, mainly North America and Central and North Europe, are rapidly increasing in number. The objective of this study is identifying the pediatric patients with beta thalassemia minor or thalassemia trait and the importance of differential diagnosis of minor thalassemia to a hypochromic anemia of another cause using Mentzer index. The study included 40 patients diagnosed with beta thalassemia minor and treated at the Pediatrics I Clinic of Targu Mure? HematologyOncology Department during 2007-2017 and it demonstrates the efficacy of using the Mentzer index (MI) in medical practice.