TITLE:
Sickle Cell Anaemia: Errors in Haemoglobin Genotyping: Impact on Parents of Children Attending Two Hospitals in South East Nigeria
AUTHORS:
J. M. Chinawa, P. C. Manyike, A. E. Aronu, H. A. Obu, A. T. Chinawa
KEYWORDS:
Sickle Cell Anaemia, Children, Errors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
30,
2015
ABSTRACT: Objectives: The study is aimed at determining
that errors in assigning genotypes to intending couples do exist; and the
impact of these errors on parents. Methods: The study was conducted at the
children clinics in Enugu and Abakiliki, south east Nigeria. It is a
cross-sectional retrospective study in which a review of the records of all the
children attending 2 private clinics in Enugu and Abakaliki of Enugu and Ebonyi
states respectively, over a 3-year period was done. Results: A total of 6006
children attended the children clinics over the study period. Twenty three (23)
of them had sickle cell anaemia. Out of the 23 cases 10 (43.5%) were males and
13 (56.5%) were females. Male to female ratio was 1:1.3. The commonest features
were abdominal and leg pains, involving 20 (87%) and 21 (91.3 %) respectively.
Among the 23 parents that had their genotypes repeated, 9 males had different
genotypes from what they had during courtship or before marriage. The genotypes
of all the females that could recall their genotypes before marriage or during
courtship were the same after a repeat test. Conclusions: There exist errors in
assigning genotypes to parents which at the end made them have children with
sickle cell anemia, unwittingly, with serious consequences bordering on
strained relationship between the parents with the children bearing the brunt.