Evaluation of M/H ratio for screening of beta thalassaemia trait

This study was done to evaluate the efficiency of M/H ratio between the percentages of microcytic and hypochromic cells as a screening procedure for thalassaemia trait in Pakistani population. A total of 150 subjects, were included in this study. The analysis of results revealed that M/H ratio is a very sensitive index for beta thalassaemia trait. The sensitivity, predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of the M/H ratio for beta thalassaemia trait was 100%, 90.4% and 90.4% respectively. It also picked up all cases of beta thalassaemia trait with co-existent iron deficiency. It is therefore concluded that M/H ratio is an easy, reliable and sensitive index which can be used for mass screening of beta thalassaemia trait, particularly in a population where iron deficiency is also prevalent.