THE EVALUATION OF TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITYAND CORRELATION WITH HAEMOGLOBIN CONCENTRATION IN SICKLE CELL ANAEMIC PATIENT ATTENDING THE HAEMATOLOGY CLINIC OF LAUTECH TEACHING HOSPITAL,

Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) is one of the commonest haemoglobinopathies due to a point mutation (A→T) of the β-globin gene, which results in the production of abnormal haemoglobin molecules known as haemoglobin S. The evaluation of iron profile parameters in sickle cell anaemic patients is essential for the management of their disease. The TIBC (total iron binding capacity) which is one of the commonly used parameters for iron status evaluation measures the availability of iron binding sites. Extracellular iron is transported in the body bound to transferrin, which is the primary iron-transport protein. Hence, TIBC indirectly measures transferrin levels, which increase as stored iron decreases. AIM The aim of this study is to evaluate the total iron binding capacity and its correlation with haemoglobin concentration in sickle cell anaemic patient attending the haematology clinic of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY A total number of 50 sickle cell patients were recruited for the study from the haematology clinic of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo state. The patients were assayed for total iron binding capacity and haemoglobin concentration. During this study, a self-structured questionnaire was administered to all subjects recruited for the study and there was a review of their case record folders.10mls of venous sample was collected from each subject and 5mls was collected into the EDTA bottle for estimation of full blood count within 2 hours using sysmex automated cell