Study on diagnostic parameters in women of reproductive age group suffering from iron deficiency anaemia

Iron deficiency anemia, the disease characterized by pallor, dyspnea and edema war described in about 1500 B C in the Papyrus Erbs, an Egyptian manual of therapeutics believed to be the oldest complete manuscript. It was believed to be due to the derangement of kapha or phlegm and was manifested by whiteness of the eyes, skin and finger nails. Charaka described another form of “Pandu roga” associated with the eating of clay. He treated anemia with iron rust pills. Medical historians have attributed this ancient disease to “Ancylostomal Anemia”, a form of iron deficiency aneamia. Iron deficiency anemia is the result of severe degree of iron deficiency. Iron deficiency leads to restriction in the production of haemoglobin. It also causes distortion of red cells with microcytosis and hypochromin and produces deleterious effect on health. Serum ferritin is the best investigation for distinguishing those with iron deficiency from those who were not iron deficient. In pregnant women WHO defined Anemia as a reduction in haemoglobin level <11g/dl. It occurs in 40–80% of the pregnant women, besides being second most common cause of maternal deaths, anaemia is a major cause of puerperal sepsis, ant-partum and post-partum hemorrhage and other complications of pregnancy among pregnant females. The present study was undertaken at Major S.D. Singh Medical College Hospital, Farrukhabad. One hundred patients attending Out-patient department were selected for the study. Detailed history was recorded, clinical examination conducted, blood tests including full blood count, platelet count, absolute blood values, blood film examination, serum ferritin levels etc. Study showed that largest (43%) were suffering from moderate anaemia, 72% were having microcytic hypochromic anaemia. Other parameters eg. RBC count, packed cell volume, Mean corpuscular volume, were also found to be much lower in all types of anaemia. Mean Ferritin level in cases of moderate anaemia was 10.8U/L (Normal value63ug/L), much below the normal values. Platelet count was found to be normal in majority of cases. Present study has shown a slightly lower prevalence of anaemia in comparison to studies carried out earlier, however it corroborates the fact that problem of iron deficieny anaemia is still prevalent in rural areas among pregnant females, where more concerted efforts are needed to improve health of females.