Nishad et al report the Thal-index for distinguishing beta thalassemia trait from other types of microcytic anemia. The authors are from University of Kelaniya and North Colombo Teaching Hospital in Sri Lanka.
Patient selection: microcytic anemia
Parameters:
(1) MCV in femtoliters
(2) mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) in pg/cell
(3) red cell distribution with (RDW) in percent
Thal index =
= (0.615 * (MCV)) + (0.518 * (MCH)) + (0.446 * (RDW))
Interpretation:
• An index <= 59 indicates beta thalassemia trait.
Performance:
• The sensitivity is 0.90 and specificity 0.85.
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Specialty: Hematology Oncology
