Fahim Akhtar, Hamid Saeed Malik, Masood Anwar.
Prevalence of beta thalassemia trait in patients with hypochromic microcytic anemia.
Pak J Pathol Jan ;13(4):11-3.

Beta thalassemia trait is the second most common cause of hypochromic microcytic anemia (first being iron deficiency anemia) in Pakistan. Early diagnosis is of paramount importance in order to prevent birth of children with thalassaemia major. This can only be achieved if physicians are aware of the importance of preventive measures. A retrospective study was carried out at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in order to assess the physician`s awareness and clinical acumen in diagnosing beta thalassaemia trait. In one year 1269 patients with hypochromic microcytic anaemia were referred for diagnosis of beta thalassaemia trait. Of these only 357(28%) were found to have the condition. Of these majority (62%) were males. The study revealed that although awareness for importance of diagnosing beta thalassaemia trait is adequate but selection of patients for further investigations is not very good, particularly in females.

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