title: The prevalence of irregular erythrocyte antibodies among antenatal women in Delhi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Universal screening of all antenatal women, including D antigen-positive pregnant ones, is mandatory in most developed countries. However, no guidelines on this issue are available for developing countries such as India. Furthermore, there is limited information on immunisation rates in pregnant women (D antigen-positive and D antigen-negative) from India. We, therefore, studied the prevalence of alloantibodies among multigravida women in India.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective study, carried out to detect the prevalence of alloantibodies among multigravida women in India, 3,577 multigravida women attending antenatal clinics were typed for ABO and D antigens and screened for alloantibodies by column agglutination technology. The medical history and detailed obstetric history of these women were reviewed and information recorded on any prior haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn among siblings and/or blood transfusions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of alloantibodies in this study was 1.25%. There was a statistically significant difference between alloimmunisation rates in the D antigen-negative and D antigen-positive groups (10.7% versus 0.12%, respectively). Anti-D antibody contributed to 78.4% of total alloimmunisations in our study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anti-D was the most common culprit responsible for alloimmunisation. Other alloantibodies found included anti-C, anti-M, anti-S and anti-c. Large-scale population-based studies are required to assess the real magnitude of alloimmunisation in pregnant women in India.
authors.affiliation: Regional Blood Transfusion Centre and Department of Pathology, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India. maj_sgupta@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pahuja
authors.forename: Santosh Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Mukta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pujani
authors.forename: Manjula
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007518:Isoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System / Q000097:blood*; D018029:Rho(D) Immune Globulin
chemical_list: D007518:Isoantibodies; C061961:RHO(D) antibody; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System; D018029:Rho(D) Immune Globulin; C026410:Rho(D) antigen