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Objective: Hemoglobin disorders are an important health problem in Thailand. Therefore, screening tests for abnormal genotypes offer an effective method for coping with this problem. This study has been designed to study basic screening tests for inherited hemoglobin disorders in Thai pregnant women.
Methods: This study was designed as a diagnostic test. EDTA blood specimens from 213 pregnant women were used in this study. The screening methods studied were the one-tube osmotic fragility (OF) test and the dichlorophenol-indolphenol (DCIP) test. The standard method used in this study was hemoglobin typing applying the cellulose acetate hemoglobin electrophoresis method. Diagnostic properties such as sensitivity, specifîcity and predictive value were used for data analysis.
Results: The results obtained from this study demonstrated the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for Hb E disorders screened by the DCIP test to be 100%, 97.2%, 94.4% and 100%, respectively. For beta thalassemia disorder screened by the OF test, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were 100%, 83.7%, 10.5% and, 100%, respectively. Evaluation for combining both methods as screening tools for all hemoglobin disorders revealed a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of 100%, 97.1% , 94.9% and. 100% , respectively.
Conclusion: The combination of both the OF and the DCIP test as a screening tool for hemoglobin disorders in pregnant women is an effective method and should be used in the antenatal clinic. (Clin. Lab. 2002;48:525-528)
DOI: Clin. Lab 2002;48:525-528
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