Evaluation of RET-He values as an early indicator of iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women

Abstract Introduction During pregnancy, women are at an increased risk of developing iron-deficiency anemia. Objective The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of the reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (RET-He) in the early detection of iron-deficiency anemia in a group of pregnant women and to establish a reference range for this parameter in a group of control individuals. Method: A total of 60 patients and 130 control subjects were included in the study. Blood samples collected from the subjects were submitted to a complete blood count and a serum ferritin test and the data were analyzed by comparing the groups and ROC curves. Results The reference range found for the RET-He was between 29.75pg and 38.24pg, with a median of 35pg. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the ferritin parameter showed an area under the curve of 0.732 for the RET-He, 0.586 for hemoglobin, 0.551 for the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and 0.482 for the mean corpuscular volume. Conclusion Early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy is essential to prevent damage to both maternal and fetal health. The RET-He presents an excellent potential as an auxiliary tool for the diagnosis of iron deficiency in pregnant women.

Evaluation of RET-He values as an early indicator of iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women.

INTRODUCTION: During pregnancy, women are at an increased risk of developing iron-deficiency anemia. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of the reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (RET-He) in the early detection of iron-deficiency anemia in a group of pregnant women and to establish a reference range for this parameter in a group of control individuals. METHOD: A total of 60 patients and 130 control subjects were included in the study. Blood samples collected from the subjects were submitted to a complete blood count and a serum ferritin test and the data were analyzed by comparing the groups and ROC curves. RESULTS: The reference range found for the RET-He was between 29.75pg and 38.24pg, with a median of 35pg. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the ferritin parameter showed an area under the curve of 0.732 for the RET-He, 0.586 for hemoglobin, 0.551 for the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and 0.482 for the mean corpuscular volume. CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy is essential to prevent damage to both maternal and fetal health. The RET-He presents an excellent potential as an auxiliary tool for the diagnosis of iron deficiency in pregnant women.

Anti-Trichomonas vaginalis activity of betulinic acid derivatives.

Caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, trichomoniasis is the most common non-viral STD worldwide. Currently, metronidazole and tinidazole are the only drugs approved for treatment of the condition. However, problems such as metronidazole-resistant T. vaginalis isolates and allergic reactions have been reported. Based on data previously published by our group, structural changes in betulinic acid (1) were performed, generating three new compounds that were tested for in vitro anti-T.vaginalis activity in this study. Whereas derivative 2 did not demonstrate anti-T. vaginalis activity, derivatives 3 and 4 reduced trophozoite viability by 100%, with MIC values of 50µM. The structural difference of two compounds was performed only on the C-28 position. Derivative 3 showed low cytotoxicity against Vero cells in 24h; however, derivative 4 was highly cytotoxic, but efficient when associated with metronidazole in the synergism assay. ROS production by neutrophils was reduced, and derivative 3 showed anti-inflammatory effect. Collectively, the results of this study provide in vitro evidence that betulinic acid derivatives 3 and 4 are potential compounds with anti-T. vaginalis activity.