PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Diego Velasco-Rodríguez
AU  - Juan-Manuel Alonso-Domínguez
AU  - Fernando-Ataúlfo González-Fernández
AU  - Jesús Villarrubia
AU  - María Sopeña
AU  - Lorena Abalo
AU  - Paloma Ropero
AU  - Jorge Martínez-Nieto
AU  - Félix de la Fuente Gonzalo
AU  - Fernando Cava
TI  - Reticulocyte parameters of delta beta thalassaemia trait, beta thalassaemia trait and iron deficiency anaemia
AID  - 10.1136/jclinpath-2015-203034
DP  - 2016 Feb 01
TA  - Journal of Clinical Pathology
PG  - 149--154
VI  - 69
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/69/2/149.short
4100  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/69/2/149.full
SO  - J Clin Pathol2016 Feb 01; 69
AB  - Aims To analyse the differences in reticulocyte indices between delta beta thalassaemia trait (δβ-TT), beta thalassaemia trait (β-TT) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), and to correlate those differences with the physiopathological features of these three types of microcytoses.Methods We performed a descriptive study of 428 samples (43 δβ-TT, 179 β-TT and 206 IDA) that were run on Advia 2120 analyser (Siemens). The following reticulocyte indices were assessed: absolute reticulocyte count (ARC), percentage of reticulocytes, mean corpuscular volume of reticulocytes (MCVr), haemoglobin content of reticulocytes (CHr), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration of reticulocytes, red blood cell distribution width of reticulocytes (RDWr), haemoglobin distribution width of reticulocytes (HDWr) and reticulocyte subpopulations based on their fluorescence according to mRNA (low (L-R), medium (M-R) and high (H-R)), MCV ratio and MCHC ratio. Correlation between fetal haemoglobin (HbF) and RDWr in patients with thalassaemia was evaluated.Results RDWr was significantly higher in δβ-TT compared with β-TT (15.03% vs 13.82%, p<0.001), and so were HDWr (3.65% vs 3.27%, p<0.001), CHr (23.68 vs 22.66 pg, p<0.001) and MCVr (88.3 vs 85.5 fL, p<0.001). A good correlation was observed between HbF and RDWr (r=0.551, p<0.001). IDA subjects have more immature reticulocytes, but less ARC than β-TT, suggesting a certain degree of inefficient erythropoiesis in IDA in comparison with β-TT.Conclusions Previously described differences between δβ-TT, β-TT and IDA in the corpuscular indices of mature red blood cell can also be observed in reticulocytes. The degree of anisocytosis in reticulocytes from patients with thalassaemia is correlated with HbF.