Significance of hemogram and peripheral smear in diagnosis of suspected cases of thalassemia.

Objective: To estimate the significance of hemogram and peripheral smear in diagnosis of suspected cases of thalassemia presented to the Farooq Hospital Lahore. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Pathology, Farooq Hospital, Westwood Lahore. Period: December 2023 to December 2024. Methods: Patients from all branches of Farooq hospital Lahore visiting for hemoglobin electrophoresis testing were included. Complete blood count was performed on automated hematology analyzer and blood smears were examined by Hematologist. The hemoglobin electrophoresis was performed on electrophoresis automated system. The IBM SPSS version 27.0 software used to analyze the collected data. Results: From total (n=473), majority of the patients were females (73.78%) then males (26.21%). The mean age was 19.99+14.731. The beta thalassemia trait was the most prevalent among the other variants. A substantial number of patients exhibited low MCV levels and moderate hemoglobin deficiency, as well as microcytic hypochromic, anisocytosis, poikilocytosis, and target cells. The beta thalassemia trait was associated with statistically significant red blood cells (p=0.024), poikilocytosis (p=0.001), and target cells (p=0.001). Conclusion: These results emphasize the significance of peripheral smear and hemogram in the diagnosis of thalassemia. This study also underscores the importance of targeted screening and diagnostic strategies to effectively identify carriers and manage affected individuals, particularly in light of the high female representation and young mean age of patients.