Objective: To assess the burden of Sickle Cell Anemia in Makrani cast of Lyari town Karachi, Pakistan and to introduce on spot, simple, reliable and economical screening procedure for Sickle Cell disorders.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study included 200 persons of Makrani cast from Liyari General Hospital. Sickel solubility test, Sickle slide test and hemoglobin electrophoresis was performed on all samples. We considered electrophoresis as gold standard and calculated Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive predictive value and Negative predictive values of Sickle solubility and Sickle slide tests.
Results: Out of 200 subjects, 125 were female and 74 male. The most common age group was 21-30 years. On electrophoresis, 10(6 female and 4 male) were positive for Sickle cell disease and 18 cases (9 persons of both gender) were positive for Sickle cell trait. Both Sickle solubility and Sickle slide tests showed good diagnostic accuracy.
Conclusion: The presence of high percentage of sickle cell disease and trait were found in the study population. Sickle solubility test was more sensitive and slide test was more specific for diagnosis of Sickle cell anemia. Both these techniques are not only economical but also less time consuming and can be utilized as a mass/family screening tool and in doubtful cases can be backed up by more sophisticated techniques.
Key words: Sickle Solubility test, sickle slide test, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value.
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