Iron deficiency anaemia in sickle cell disorders in India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is uncommon in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) because of availability of an adequate iron source potentially from increased red cell turnover and from blood transfusions. Also, iron deficiency anaemia can often go unnoticed because the sickle cell disease patients are already anaemic. Iron deficiency in sickle cell patients may result in lowering the intracellular haemoglobin concentration and this may ameliorate sickling. The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia and the response of iron supplementation in sickle cell disorders in tribal population of the four States viz. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. METHODS: A total of 8434 individuals (7105 AA, 1267 AS and 62 SS) were tested for zinc protoporphyrin/haem (ZPP/H) ratio and haemoglobin levels. Twenty two sickle cell anaemia (SS), 47 sickle cell trait (AS) and 150 normal control (AA) individuals who were iron deficient, were given iron therapy for a period of 12 wk and the laboratory investigations were repeated at the 13th wk. RESULTS: Sixty seven per cent of subjects with sickle cell anaemia and 26 per cent with sickle cell trait had elevated ZPP/H ratios (>80 micromol/mol) as against 22.8 per cent of normal individuals. The elevated ZPP/H ratios is an indicator of microcytic anaemia of iron deficiency. Following iron therapy, an improvement in the Hb levels and ZPP/H ratios was observed in both sickle cell disorders and normal individual cases. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: This study suggests that iron deficiency anaemia is an important problem in Indian sickle cell anaemia patients and iron supplementation should be given only in proven cases of iron deficiency anaemia.

Rising trend of HIV infection with special reference to blood donors.

This paper describes the experience in testing for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV) at a private institution. A total of 31,003 persons were tested between August 1986 and June 1990 including 20, 321 blood donors. The other 10,712 were visitors to the Ohso International Commune (OIC), a commune for followers of Osho Rajneesh. Another 133 patients, 45 of whom had been repeatedly transfused, were also tested. Thirty two persons tested positive-22 blood donors, 4 visitors to OIC and 6 patients. The seropositivity of unselected blood donors was O of 273 donors in 1986, 1 of 2836 in 1987 (0.04%), 2 of 5373 in 1988 (0.04%), 11 of 7201 in 1989 (0.15%) and 8 of 4640 in the first half of 1990 (0.17%). Since non-professional blood donors represent a sample of the general population, a rise in seropositivity in the former may imply a rise in the latter.