Red cell indices and formulas used in differentiation of β-thalassemia trait from iron deficiency in Thai school children.

Red cell indices and formulas have been established as simple, fast, and inexpensive means for discrimination between the β-thalassemia (β-thal) trait and iron deficiency. However, there were no reports of the diagnostic reliability of different red cell indices and formulas in discrimination of β-thal trait from iron deficiency in the Thai population. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of five red cell indices [red blood cell (RBC) count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (Hb) (MCH), mean corpuscular Hb concentration (MCHC), and red cell distribution width (RDW)] and eight formulas (Sirdah, Green & King, RDW Index, Menzler, England & Fraser, Ehsani, Srivastava, and Shine & Lal).

HAART has no major impact on hematological and plasma bilirubin changes in HIV-infected patients with congenital G-6-PD deficiency.

Hematological effects of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in HIV-infected patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency are unclear. The aim of this study was to assess effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on hematological and plasma bilirubin changes in these patients. A hundred and nine HIV-infected Thai patients were tested for G-6-PD deficiency and its variant by using fluorescent spot test and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis, accordingly.