Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and beta thalassemia minor (BTM) are the most common causes of hypochromic microcytic anemia. Many indices have been defined for rapid differentiation of these diseases via red blood cell indices. The objectives of this study were to introduce a new index, evaluate its validity, and compare it with other indices.

 Materials and Methods

 In this descriptive observational study, new patients with hypochromic microcytic anemia referred to hematology clinic were studied. 130 patients with IDA and 154 with BTM with the mean age of 24.2 years were assessed. Inclusion criteria were anemia [Hemoglobin (Hb) 2 were measured. BTM and IDA diagnoses were confirmed with HbA₂> 3.5% and ferritin < 12 ng/ml or anemia responding to iron respectively. All patients were assessed according to red blood cell (RBC), Mentzer index, England index, Srivastava index and red cell distribution width, and our new index: [MCV-(10 . RBC)]. Sensitivity, specificity, as well as Youden's index have been calculated for all indices.

 Results

 Only Mentzer index and the newly introduced index had the sensitivity and specificity of over 90%. Mentzer Index and the newly introduced index had the highest Youden's index.

 Conclusions

 Compared to other well-known indices, the newly introduced index is straightforward and has a good sensitivity and specificity to discriminate IDA and BTM. Its calculation is easy and does not need calculator.

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 Key words : Iron deficiency anemia, Beta thalassemia, Erythrocyte indices