Bird A R, Karabus C D, Hartley P S
S Afr Med J. 1982 Sep 18;62(13):429-30.
Patients with thalassemia as well as those with iron deficiency typically have red cell microcytosis and hypochromia. In view of the large number of children with microcytic anaemia or an isolated microcytosis seen at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, the frequency with which a low red cell mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was associated with the presence of thalassaemia or with an abnormal haemoglobin was investigated. Of 730 patients with an MCV of 60 fl or less, 46 (6.4%) were found to carry the beta-thalassaemia gene and 20 children (2.7 %) had an abnormal haemoglobin, most commonly haemoglobin E. The prevalence of thalassaemia was greatest among Coloured patients and abnormal haemoglobins were found exclusively in this group of children. The implications of these findings are discussed.
地中海贫血患者以及缺铁患者通常会出现红细胞小红细胞症和低色素血症。鉴于在红十字战争纪念儿童医院就诊的大量患有小红细胞性贫血或单纯小红细胞症的儿童，我们对低红细胞平均体积（MCV）与地中海贫血的存在或异常血红蛋白之间的关联频率进行了调查。在730例MCV为60 fl或更低的患者中，发现46例（6.4%）携带β地中海贫血基因，20名儿童（2.7%）存在异常血红蛋白，最常见的是血红蛋白E。地中海贫血的患病率在有色人种患者中最高，并且异常血红蛋白仅在这群儿童中发现。本文讨论了这些发现的意义。
