6368 Evaluating the mentzer index for diagnosis of IDA & β-thalassemia among infants visiting primary health centres in Dubai, UAE: retrospective study, 2019–2022

Objectives The objective of the study is to apply the Mentzer index on the population of all eligible pediatric patients presenting to Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in Dubai for the first year of life screening. Additionally, the study will be calculating the prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) and β-Thalassemia in children presenting to the PHCs and evaluating the importance of PHCs in screening children for IDA and β-Thalassemia by comparing the results of this study to previous results. Methods The SALAMA System (Electronic medical record system used in PHCs in Dubai) was used for collecting the data. Eligible patients' data, such as hemoglobin, MCV, and RBC counts were collected and recorded. Mentzer index was applied on patients and the index results were compared to the gold standard results extracted from the SALAMA System. The gold standard diagnosis for IDA used was the ferritin test¹ and the gold standard diagnosis for β-Thalassemia used in the study was Hemoglobin Electrophoresis.² Results Out of the seventy-five eligible patients with low hemoglobin, eleven (14.6%) had low ferritin indicating IDA. Moreover, eight (10.6%) patients had abnormal Hemoglobin Electrophoresis indicating β-Thalassemia. The Mentzer index was applied on the patients; thirteen (17.3%) of them had a value of less than thirteen (β-Thalassemia) and six (8%) had a value of more than thirteen (IDA). Five out of eleven patients with IDA were misdiagnosed as having β-Thalassemia by the Mentzer Index. Conclusion The results suggest that repeating the study with a larger sample size, will solidify the reliability and validity of the Mentzer Index with regards to its use in practice. The Mentzer index should incorporate a category for patients who do not have IDA or β-Thalassemia to avoid the misdiagnosis of patients with other types of anemia. References Killip S Bennett JM, Chambers MD, Iron Deficiency Anemia. American Family Physician, 2007 Mar 1. Holm G. Everything you need to know about thalassemia. Healthline, 2017.