title: Forecasting hemoglobinopathy burden through neonatal screening in Omani neonates.
abstract: To evaluate the incidence of hemoglobinopathies in Omani subjects and to forecast its future burden on health resources, we initiated a prospective neonatal screening program in two major cities of the Sultanate of Oman. Consecutive cord blood samples from a total of 7,837 neonates were analyzed for complete blood counts and for hemoglobin (Hb) profile by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No case with Hb H (beta4) was detected. We observed that the overall incidence of alpha-thalassemia (alpha-thal) was 48.5% [based on the presence of Hb Bart's (gamma4)] and the beta-globin-related abnormalities accounted for 9.5% of the samples (4.8% sickle cell trait, 2.6% beta-thal trait, 0.9% Hb E trait, 0.8% Hb D trait, 0.08% Hb C trait, 0.3% sickle cell disease and 0.08% homozygous beta-thal). This is also the first large study to establish reference ranges of cord red blood cell (RBC) indices for Omani neonates.
authors.affiliation: Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
authors.forename: Salam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alkindi
authors.forename: Shoaib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Zadjali
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Madhani
authors.forename: Shahina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daar
authors.forename: Hamood
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Al Haddabi
authors.forename: Qamariya
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Al Abri
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gravell
authors.forename: Tsouria
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berbar
authors.forename: Sahaya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pravin
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pathare
authors.forename: Rajagopal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krishnamoorthy
mesh_terms: D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000453:epidemiology; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D005544:Forecasting; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends*; D006445:Hemoglobin C Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D006453:Hemoglobinopathies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D009850:Oman / Q000453:epidemiology; D012016:Reference Values; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins