Spectrum of Types of Thalassemias and Hemoglobinopathies: Study in a Tertiary Level Children Hospital in Bangladesh

Thalassemias and hemoglobinopathies are the most common hemolytic congenital disorders in Bangladesh as in many parts of the world. This study was done to find the common types of thalassemias and abnormal hemoglobin variants seen in Bangladeshi populations. A total of 4813 samples were analyzed for hemoglobin disorders out of which 2308 (49.95%) showed abnormalities. The samples were analyzed by Bio Rad D 10 Analyzer in 3914 (81.32%) cases, BIORAD VARIANTβ thalassemia short program using the principle of high performance liquid chromatography in 474 (9.85%) cases and by CAPILLARYS 2 FLEX PIERCING utilizing capillary electrophoresis in 425 (8.83%) cases. The samples were analyzed in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The common hemoglobin disorders seen were β trait 863 (17.94%), Hb E trait 601 (12.50%), Hb E β thalassemia 524 (10.87%), β thalassemia major 192 (4.00 %), Hb E disease 99 (2.05%). Other Hb abnormalities detected were Hb D trait 17 (0.35%), Sickle cell trait 4 (0.08%), hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) 2 (0.04%), and Hb Lepore, δ β thalassemia, sickle cell β thalassemia, Sickle cell disease, compound heterozygote for HbE+D and Hb Q band one case each (0.02%).