Diagnostic significance of MCV, MCH AND NESTROFT in thalassemia minor individuals

Abstract

Thalassemia is a blood disorder passed down through families (inherited) in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Thalassemia minor occurs if a person receives the defective gene from only one parent. If a person inherit defective gene from both parents then it will result in thalassemia major. Therefore carrier identification is necessary in order to prevent the major form of thalassemia. Although sophisticated methods of screening have become available, a hunt for a cheap, rapid, objective screening method still remains elusive. So in microbiology department at Jinnah University for women we design a study project to evaluate the significance of cell counter–based parameters that are MCV and MCH and to appraise the usefulness of Naked-Eye-SingleTube-Osmotic-Fragility-Test (NESTROFT) in detection of thalassemia minor. For this purpose 100 thalassemia minor individuals were selected for the study along with control (normal) sample. Their blood samples were subjected to NESTROFT and CBC samples were analyzed on cell counter Sysmex K21 for the estimation of MCV and MCH. All individuals give positive NESTROFT. MCV and MCH values were significantly low. MCV values were between 56- 75fl with a mean of 64.552fl and MCH values were between15-24pg with a mean of 19.603pg. This indicates MCV ​